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Hand-Built Westminster Door Chime from 1936 Popular Mechanics Plans

Hand-built Westminster Door Chime From Plans in 1936 Popular Mechanics Magazine.


Hand-Built Vintage Westminster Door Chime from 1936 Popular Mechanics plans

Hand-built Westminster Chime

This Door Chime was evidently hand built from plans authored by A.L. Mills and published as “The Craftsman” feature in the September 1936 edition of Popular Mechanics Magazine. Several clues suggest this is one-off chime built by a skilled craftsman and not a production unit. The size of the decorative cover is much larger than those of most contemporary commercial chimes and scrolled woodwork shows some asymmetry. The motor has a superfluous second shaft which would not likely be found on a production model. And the lower wood assembly that protects the bells at their approximate midpoint is nearly identical to the plans. Still, some parts, notably the iron chassis which suspends the works looks to be beyond the means of even the best equipped home hobby shop. Construction differs from the plans which call for a belt to reduce the motor’s rpm and a home made mercury switch while here we find a geared reduction and a commercially made mercury switch.

It’s possible this was a prototype manufactured by an employee at the J.H.Keeney company (previously Keeney and Sons) of Chicago Illinois. J.H. Keeney manufactured amusements, including jukeboxes and J.H. Keeney machines, and may have wanted to join the (then) growing door chime industry. A senior technician at the Electric Motor Service Company of Gilroy California referenced a sales invoice indicating this Bodine motor was shipped to the J.H. Keeley company in December of 1936, which neatly coincides with the publication of the plans in Popular Mechanics.

This chime is Cam driven with the sequence timed by a mercury switch which is tripped to engage the circuit to drive the motor. Gearing reduces the speed of the motor to rotate a cylinder with a series of pegs to lift and release levers to strike the bells in sequence until the mercury switch is reset by means of an eccentric on the cam’s axle.

The mechanics, cover style and overall size of the chime are similar to the Deagan Cam Driven Door Chime chime which shares Chicago roots with J.H. Keeley. Like the Deagan chime, this chime has high and low voltage circuits. The motor is driven by 120 volt (house) current protected with an onboard five amp Bussman glass fuse. Sixteen volt, transformer reduced, current is routed to a conventional push button which activates a solenoid to trip the mercury switch beginning the bell sequence.

Like all Cam driven chimes, this example has only one melody and there is no provision to use individual bell strikes for servant calls.

This chime was supplied to the Museum from an antique dealer in Indianapolis without bells. The dealer knew no provenance or history of other than having found this chime at an Indianapolis estate sale.

 

Please contact the doorbell museum with any information you may have on these cam-driven chimes.