We’ve come a long way since the days of water clocks and spring-driven clocks—now looking to our cell phones and smart watches for the time.

So why does clockmaker Dan McCabe have more work than he can handle?

“Sentimentality,” he said. “People often ask if the repair is worth it. I tell them, ‘Only if it’s worth it to you.’”

Clock repair is tedious work, and McCabe said the cost of labor today usually costs more than the clock is worth, even in working condition.

“But that doesn’t matter to them because it was Grandpa’s,” McCabe said, “and when they were little, Grandpa would wind it and they would listen to it. If it weren’t for that, you couldn’t justify these repairs at all.”

Born into the business

McCabe grew up building and repairing bicycles, motorized scooters and cars with his two older brothers, but he was the only one who took to clock repair.

“Anything with gears, levers and springs has always intrigued me,” he said. “I had to know how it worked.”

McCabe learned the craft from his father, who repaired watches, clocks and jewelry for A.C. Parson Jewelry in Grand Junction before opening his own store in Hotchkiss.

“[Dad] was a perfectionist,” McCabe said, adding that his father took his work very seriously. “He taught me the technical skills, but also customer service skills.”

McCabe’s knowledge of clocks led him to develop an interest in the mechanics of cameras and photography. After high school, he entered the U.S. Air Force, hoping to be assigned a position in photography. He didn’t get one, but those four years gave him the opportunity to “play around” and purchase equipment that was more affordable overseas.

The technical aspects of photography came natural to him, so after he was discharged from the Air Force, he attended a camera repair trade school in Englewood, and ended up teaching there after graduation.

McCabe had his own camera repair shop inside a couple of stores on the Front Range until he opened his own business in Fort Collins. He even tried a suit-and-tie job for a few years, working as technical director for Robert Waxman Camera in Denver.

“They got me off the bench, dressed me up and gave me a brief case,” he said. “I realized that wasn’t really what I wanted to do.”

Throughout 23 years in the camera repair business, he continued repairing clocks on the side and helped his dad from time to time.

McCabe returned to the Western Slope in 1996 to take care of his aging parents. He transitioned into operating an independent clock repair department at Page Parsons Jewelers for 16 years before moving his operation to a remodeled garage in his back yard four years ago. He still uses his father’s workbench and tools today.

McCabe’s Clock Repair specializes in repairing and restoring clock works on grandfather clocks, wall clocks, mantel clocks, cuckoo clocks, anniversary clocks, chiming and striking clocks, weight clocks and spring-driven clocks. He also picks up and delivers within 150 miles of Grand Junction.

Keeping the art alive

At 69, McCabe jokes that he is the only living clockmaker.

“Clock repair is so labor intensive that unless you spend a lifetime doing it, it’s not something you can make a lot of money at,” he said.

But clocks are his hobby as well. He collects them, buying many at flea markets, garage sales and eBay. He admits to being a clock hoarder so he has the parts available when he needs them. He has two storage units full of clocks and a booth at A Robin’s Nest of Treasures & Antiques in downtown Grand Junction.

McCabe is confident that he can fix almost any clock. Although he puts in 40-hour weeks or more, he can only take on one-third of the calls he gets.

“I have many people give me clocks they say they’ve been told can’t be repaired,” said McCabe.

For McCabe, that challenge is only half the fun. If he can’t fix it right away, he can spend hours investigating and researching until he finds the solution.

Clocks with stories

Most of the clocks McCabe works with date back to the 18th century. The oldest clock he remembers working on was from China, which he estimated to be at least 300 years old.

McCabe’s had regular customers for 20 years or more—some are collectors, while others treasure the clocks that have been in their family for generations.

“I hear a lot of old family stories behind the clocks,” said McCabe. “Sometimes they’re really elaborate, but I’m a good listener.”

McCabe feels it’s important to keep antiquities alive for future generations. He appreciates learning the history of some clocks and specific pieces he works with. Despite the gradual decline of the antique business, McCabe hopes to stay busy for the next decade. He said his father worked 70 straight years until he was 90.

“I love doing it, so it’s not a problem as long as my eyes, my hands and my mind can stay with that,” he said. “Reaching 80 doesn’t mean I just quit, but I’d like to slow down and be more selective and do other things. Then I can live it up from the time I’m 80 to the time I’m 110. Then I can travel the world.”

To contact McCabe’s Clock Repair, call 314-3210.