Assembly In Action: Holding Strong in the Face of Time
Representatives decided to refurbish the clock in plastic and contacted Taylor Plastics (Council Bluffs, IA ), a custom shop that constructs molded plastic drinking fountains, aquariums and point-of-purchase displays.
Instead of simply patching up rotted areas, the clock was rebuilt using a marine board polyethylene. This material resists salt, ultraviolet light and most other corrosive elements. Working from dimensions and blueprints, the original gothic design was manually crafted into the polyethylene. As work progressed, a problem arose with fastening the gold-leafed, aluminum roman numerals to the clock's face, as well as attaching intricate decorative work to the clock's body. Mechanical fasteners were initially considered. However, mechanical fasteners could detract from the landmark's design.