Vent: My $2 picture frame clock took 6 months to actually work right

I spent forever fighting the dollar store clock mechanism because the hands kept slipping on the cheap plastic shaft, but super glue on the gear plus a washer from an old faucet finally fixed it, so has anyone else had to jury-rig those little battery clocks from the checkout aisle?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_wood721mo agoMost Upvoted

Saw a guy on a DIY forum who had the same problem with those cheap clocks, said he fixed his by putting a tiny piece of rubber band around the shaft before pushing the hand back on. Gave it just enough grip to stop the slipping, but honestly the super glue trick sounds more permanent. Those little motors are all the same junk, probably one factory in China makes every dollar store clock in the country. My wife's got one in the kitchen that loses five minutes a week, I just reset it every Sunday and call it good. Six months though, that's some serious patience for a two dollar piece of junk.

reese_bell1mo ago

Well, no one's mentioned the real culprit yet: those clocks aren't just cheap, they're made for a specific battery type, and if you stick in a slightly thicker one, the contacts bend and mess with the timing. I found out the hard way that the spring inside the battery holder can lose tension after a few months, which makes the clock run slow or fast no matter how tight the hands are. So maybe check that before you glue anything, because a tiny piece of foil behind the battery might be all you really needed.