Sometimes the obvious escapes folks....

[Bob Wright]

Back in early 2006, I was awarded a nice grandfather clock for my thirty years service with my company. It is beautiful, with gold embellished face and rich cherry wood cabinet. It has the moon phases on the dial, and chimes.

I was explaining the chime routine to a friend of mine who was admiring my clock.

"The clock strikes the quarter hour, once for quarter past the hour, twice for the half hour, and three time for a quarter til the hour." I explained.

"How do you know whether it strikes one for one o'clock," she asked, of for a quarrer after?

"Well," I explained, "before striking the hour the clock chimes a few notes of a preset tune."

"And how do you know the difference between a.m and p.m?"

"For that I look out the window. If its dark................."



Bob Wright

 

[JFB]

I recently put a German wall clock back ticking. Still got problem with 3:22 stoping and chimes seem slow to me. Beat and regulation great, took a while, but I got them.

the chime for 12:30, 1:00 and 1:30 are the same!

AND there is a problem with no chime at 3:00 some times

 

[Pat-inCO]

"And how do you know the difference between a.m and p.m?"
"For that I look out the window. If its dark................."

I think I might have added "I'm not a snowflake, so it's not an issue". 8)

 

[Bull Barrel]

I recently put a German wall clock back ticking. Still got problem with 3:22 stoping and chimes seem slow to me. Beat and regulation great, took a while, but I got them.

the chime for 12:30, 1:00 and 1:30 are the same!

AND there is a problem with no chime at 3:00 some times

You haff vays to make zem tock!

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I have a German cuckoo clock that my dad sent home to his mother in the 50s during his Navy service. I wish I could make it run again.

 

[JFB]

my clock mechanic skills are far less than gunsmith (and I ain't no good on guns!)

what I did was just open wood cover on back, and sprayed menthol alcahol to soak down gear with clock upside down, let dry and repeated a couple times.

I then put a couple drops of castor oil in alcohal and light spray to give a little lube

I then put a piece of paper where the pendulum came out and marked where pendulum hung straight down.
then work the pendulum tab back and forth, slipping friction fit when needed till the tab was free equal amounts each side.

then hung both weights on clock side (right, facing clock on mine) and started pedulum and hope to hear tick/tock. It took several attempts to get the pendulum to stay swinging by slipping tab just a little to one side or the other. you may be able to hear tick - tock be a little longer to happen going one way, objective is get time between tick - tock equal

 

[Kevin]

I have an old grandmother clock. I believe that's what they are called...a clock that sits on the mantel but looks like a grandfather clock. My dad gave it to me. He fished it out of the trash when he was in grade school, back in the early 1940's. They had it repaired about 50 years ago, but it doesn't work these days. I remember it running when I was little. It's pretty loud. I did ask a clock repair shop about fixing it. Apparently with old clocks, if you do get them running, you have to keep them running, otherwise they get out of whack again.

So as it sits, it's right twice a day.

But I would absolutely love to have a modern, working, quiet, clock.

 

[RSIno1]

"For that I look out the window. If its dark................."

Millennials living in mom's basement don't have that option.

 

[caryc]

I recently put a German wall clock back ticking. Still got problem with 3:22 stoping and chimes seem slow to me. Beat and regulation great, took a while, but I got them.

the chime for 12:30, 1:00 and 1:30 are the same!

AND there is a problem with no chime at 3:00 some times

Oh my word ! You mean you actually have to look at it?

 

[Uncle Howie]

"For that I look out the window. If its dark................."

Millennials living in mom's basement don't have that option.

Neither do folks living in the north... only 9-1/2 hours of sunlight right now. :shock:

Even allowing for dusk and dawn, 5:15 PM to 6:45 AM... all the same color of pitch black!

 

[SamV]

I have a couple of old clocks also. I have had them serviced by a good clock smith years ago. Unfortunately, we stopped using them as they affected everyone’s sleep. One is a nice cuckoo clock, the other a mantle clock. You cannot turn off the chimes or cuckoo sounds at night. Well, I can take the weights off the cuckoo clock, but the only solution to the mantle clock is not to wind the chime at all. I do have an modern inexpensive mantle clock that has electronic “chimes” that do shut off at night. It is impossible to tell the difference in sound from real chimes unless you are within a few feet, but I know that it is only pretending to be the real thing.

 

[Rick Courtright]

then hung both weights on clock side (right, facing clock on mine) and started pedulum and hope to hear tick/tock. It took several attempts to get the pendulum to stay swinging by slipping tab just a little to one side or the other. you may be able to hear tick - tock be a little longer to happen going one way, objective is get time between tick - tock equal

Hi,

I think I understand what you're doing, but unless I read it wrong, don't quite think you're on the right track with it. I've had weight and pendulum clocks for about 60 years, and getting the "tick" to match the "tock" is a function of the angle of all the goodies inside, adjusted by moving the entire "box" a little to the right or left until it's balanced out. By ear, not sight.

In a perfect world, the sides of the "box" would be perfectly plumb, but sometimes that's not the case. It's still a good starting point, though. Once I get mine balanced, a little pencil mark is made on the wall to match the side of the "box" should it get moved (not a problem if the house is devoid of small children, and cats, who pull the chains and knock stuff out of whack.) One of my clocks is extremely fussy and movement from the line is almost zero. Still it can be an exercise in patience if the clock's been taken off the wall for a spot of oil or a good dusting.

Good luck!

Rick C

 

[JFB]

this particulair works has a friction/slip that allows setting the escapbeatement . the first setting just gets in the ball park.

I HAD a mantle clock that actually need some repairs. I took it to a certified grandfather clock repair. we discussed cost and I agreed to what I thought was pretty excessive.

a couple weeks latter he called and asked if I wanted to convert to battery movement. -- NO !--
he then said come a get it, two shopping bags of pieces! He had the gual to ask for money to take it apart. --Aint happening--

 

[Colonialgirl]

this particulair works has a friction/slip that allows setting the escapbeatement . the first setting just gets in the ball park.

I HAD a mantle clock that actually need some repairs. I took it to a certified grandfather clock repair. we discussed cost and I agreed to what I thought was pretty excessive.

a couple weeks latter he called and asked if I wanted to convert to battery movement. -- NO !--
he then said come a get it, two shopping bags of pieces! He had the gual to ask for money to take it apart. --Aint happening--

SUE the sorry idiot for the Cost of having it Re-assembled by a COMPETENT clock repairman.