The $10 Amazon Buy That Elevates My Favorite Thrifted Decor (Every Time!)
In recent years, thrift shopping has become like a sport for me; I mentally calculate the best possible days and times to score at my local thrift shops and see if I can top an amazing find that I discovered during my last trip. Lucite, string art, a kitsch owl lamp that I’ve been questing after for years — I’ve found it all, and more.
And on my thrifting excursions over the years, there’s one thing I’ve found plenty of times that I really want to take home, but something stops me: vintage clocks. You see, I love the look that vintage clocks provide — the touch of back-in-the-day authenticity that they bring to a space. But their constant ticking? NO THANK YOU.
Maybe there are those of you out there who are unbothered by — or aren’t even aware of — the not-so-quiet ticking of vintage clocks. That’s not me! The ticking clock is a sound that consistently annoys me. I’m a person who loves quiet, so as I’m writing or reading a book, the last thing I want to hear are the seconds (maddeningly) ticking by.
Enter: silent clock mechanisms. If you find a vintage clock you adore but, like me, you can’t handle the incessant ticking, this little $10 silent clock mechanism from Amazon will do the trick.
Revolutionizing Long Shaft Clock Mechanism Repair
Thanks to a mechanized threaded shaft, you can render a clock completely silent in no time. You’ll keep the original hands that came with the vintage clock, but then attach them to this little device that fits within the center hole.
How I Made My Noisy Ticking Clocks Silent
I’ve ended up with two clocks recently that I wanted to make silent: a super-cool, glass-covered owl clock from the 1970s and a live-edge wood clock that I’ve been hunting for forever. I took the first clock to a local clock repair shop, as I wasn’t 100% sure how to install the clock hand silencer and wanted some professional assistance. I found that many clock shops carry silent mechanisms and will be happy to help install them.
But for the second clock, I wanted to take a crack at it on my own. I knew I could do it as soon as I found the clock hardware online. As long as you measure everything correctly, this mechanism from Amazon is the way to go.
My clock had an opening of 5 mm, so I ordered accordingly. After that, I placed the device through the hole in the back of the clock, tightened the nut that came with it (needle-nose pliers helped), and voilà! That was all it took for my noisy vintage clock to become a silent one that I can finally enjoy.
Keep in mind that this is also a great fix to turn to if the clock you’ve thrifted just plain doesn’t work — not an uncommon scenario for secondhand shoppers!
Now I have two clocks in my home that I love, and you know what? I’ll be ready when I turn around a corner in a thrift shop and I spot that holy-grail item I’m currently after: a mid-century starburst clock.
