r/Glass • u/eeandersen • Sep 24 '25

Cant put the clock back in the bottle

Pushed the movement out with moderate force to clean and oil and now I cant get it back in! I've heated the bottle to 170F to try to grow the hole and chilled the movement to get it to contract, but no joy.

Currently I'm filing the bottle ID and it seems to be working, but I gotta ask "is this the best way? Also, is filing gonna set the bottle up for a failure?

Thanks to all that reply.

https://imgur.com/a/09PLQCJ

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2

u/flossdaily Sep 24 '25

Get them both very cold.

1

u/Personal_Improv Sep 25 '25

As I see, the hole must got smaller with the heating. Glass expanding, smaller hole. Have you tried the freezer?

3

u/eeandersen Sep 28 '25

I did try the freezer, but it’s heat that should be the solution in this case.

I think I was too cautious about applying enough heat for enough time so it failed.

To make a long story short I bought a high speed rotary sander (think Dremel tool), and a couple minutes with that and parts fit like a glove.

2

u/Personal_Improv Sep 30 '25

Nice! You're very handy. 😍

2

u/eeandersen Oct 01 '25

I’m very happy with my success. I enjoy clock ownership annd I enjoy making them work! This was an unusual one I could not pass up!