Is there an horologist on GC?

We inherited a lovely chiming clock from my grandmother - must be at least 70 years old if not more. Husband tries it out for a few hours about every 6 - 8 weeks but as it strikes the Westminster chimes beautifully every 15 minutes it is somewhat noisy when TV is on.

This week however, when it was having a bit of a run it got to the hour chiming and struck 49! We had to turn it off as it didn't seem as if it was ever going to stop. Anybody know about clocks who can advise please?

 

very nice clock can you not get it to chime just on the hour, I dont know anything about these clocks just wanted to say it lovely jjordie

 

Rosa, it has to chime every quarter hour, or the chimes can be switched off. As it chimed 49 times at 2 o'clock I thought we should do something about it :eek:

Perhaps take it to a Clock repairer but not many of them about nowadays is there?

 

thats a lot of chiming going on there, theres something not right it chiming that many times.
There is clock repairers look in the yellow pages a while ago when i watch these antique programmes they had a antique shop full of that type of clock and the large ones but cant remember what area they were in, never know you may be lucky and find one near to you, have you not checked on line worth a try.

 

A proper old-fashioned jeweller would probably know what was needed, Jjordie. Trouble is, there aren't many of those around nowadays. 49 chimes is a bit much, I have to say......, but it looks lovely!

 

I've seen where there is a new school for watchmakers in England now ... excellent as it's a dying art and the heritage is there and needs to come alive again.

This doesn't help you jj now but you need to find an old-fashioned jewellers or whatever .. we had several on the IoW so perhaps you may find something in Norfolk?

 

Ah! Saw a few of these before the eyes decided my arms weren't long enough :D

The lever that drops onto the hour snail has got stuck for some reason, probably old oil has gummed up. Unfortunately the snail is behind the dial and it means carfully unhooking the pendulum and taking it out (be very carefull not to damage the suspension spring). You then have to remove the hands which maybe either pined on with a small taper pin though the minute arbour or they may me held on by a small knurled nut. If you remove whatever holds them on they then pull off (but they can be very tight). You then have to remove the clock mechanisim from the case (usually 4 wood screws hold it to the inside of the case by way of lugs- if you think they are difficult to get out, try getting them back in again!) To get the movement out you will probably also have to remove the chime bars (held on through the bottom of the case by a 1/4" screw) and you will likely have to rotate the movement a bit to fiddle it out.

If you are still reading by this stage then there is no hope for you but anyway, pressing on regardless :D

You may find that the movement is simply dry or has some fluff/budgie feathers/old love letters/gold coins or other detritus interfering with the levers. Remove any obvious obstructions and here comes a finiky but vital part. It will need some clock oil. NOT 3 in 1, NOT old engine oil, NOT WD40 (which dries out and whilst it will probably get your clock working it will eventualy make things a LOT worse). Clock oil is applied to the small depressions (cups) at each clock pivot and is applied with a clockmaker's dropper or a piece of copper wire with one end crushed between the jaws of flat pliers to create a flattened arrow headed point. No more than one drop should be applied to each pivot and the working pallets.

If the clock is badly gummed up it will need cleaned. Don't despair! You will however need to let the springs down and remove the spring barrels. A LOT OF ENERGY IS STORED IN THE SPRING BARRELS AND DONE CARELESSLY IT CAN REWARD YOU WITH A BROKEN THUMB AND/OR A SERIOUSLY DAMAGED CLOCK. To let down the springs you take the key firmly in one hand while securing the movement on a cussion on your lap with the other you put pressure on the key as if you are going to wind the mechanisim up untill the ratchet begins to rise. At that point you lift the ratchet against its spring and let off the barrel spring tension one or two turns at a time untill there is no more pressure. You have to do this with each of the 3 barrels. If both you and the clock have survived this then you are entitled to a cup of tea and at least one chocky bicky :D

Once the barrels are let down your clock is relatively harmless and you can look for the plates that are screwed to the front of the movement that hold the barrels in place. I should also point out that any screw and sundry bits and bobs are non standard and pretty well irreplacable these days so don't loose any of 'em.

With the barrels out you can breathe a sigh of relief because your movement will now spend a night in a parrafin bath. After its sojorn (and any visits to A&E if required) it's time to roll the sleves up, get the pinny on and raid the cleaning cupboard. Clockmakers use a product such as Horolene which is a vile mixure of indescribable chemicals that on a good day smell like a baby's nappy bucket (for anyone who remembers the delights of steeping terrys you will know what I mean) The word we are looking for is ammonia and it stinks and mistreated it will give you a return trip to A&E. However, Ciff Cleaner (the abrasive stuff) does contain a little ammonia and used carefully it's possible to give the movement a thorough wash and brush up with with a tooth brush to remove the gunk on all the pivots, escapement and other assorted pieces of bent metal. Wash out thouroghly with at least 3 rinses of hot water and a clean toothbrush then dry carefully with lint free cloth followed by a good going over with a hair drier.

Your clean movement must then be oiled as mentioned above making sure every moving part gets it's share but no more (The expression out of his cups comes from clockmaking where too much oil has been applied and it runs out of the cup depriving the pivot of oil and generally promoting hideous stains on the polished brass plates. Just thought you would like to know that piece of useless trivia.)

Now comes another exciting part (and possibly more time getting to know those lovely nurses). Opening the spring barrels. Actually that's the easy bit and all you do is hold the barrel firmly in one hand (preferrably leather gloved) and with the square winding stem pointing downward give it a sharp tap on a block of wood and it will pop the barrel cover off. If the springs look shiny and have a decent amount of thick oil in them then you are in luck and the barrel covers can be pressed back on. If not you will have to remove the springs. Now, a clockmaker has a special piece of kit for removing springs but in an emergency it can be done by hand though I have to state it is not recommended and does entail a certain danger element. Coiled springs in a confined space such as a brass barrel still have a lot of potential (spring) energy just dying to escape and leap up into your face so a good pair of goggles or a face mask is essential. Spring edges can also be sharp so it's time to find the other leather glove and a pair of heavy round nosed pliers. With the barrel plate off you can unhook the winding square from the spring and lay it aside with the appropriate barrel plate, ratchet, screws etc. (now you did keep them all separate and label them didn't you?

'Nyway. Grip the centre of the coiled spring with the pliers and start to pull it out of the barrel. At first it will resist and try to pop back in but eventually there comes a point of no return and and it will dehist (violently if your not wary) Once it's finished bouncing across the floor get the cat down from the curtan rail, shoo it outside and examine the spring for cracks, rust spots and any other damage. If it's OK give it a polish with 1000 grit wet and dry , clean it throughly then hook the outer end into the inside of the barrel and start to firmly wind it back in again (you thought I was kidding about the cat didn't you?) This spring, having chilled out does not want to go back to it's stressed condition and will twist, turn, buckle and try every devious trick it can until it again reaches that point of no return and meekly submits. Hook the middle end back on the winding square, give the spring coils a couple of drops of thick clokspring oil (probably unobtainable without a second mortgage so you can use a spot or two of good quality anti-fling chainsaw oil. Check that both spring ends are properly engaged on their respective hooks and then pop the coverplate back on. Do this with all 3 springs and give yourself one (1) gold *

Congratualations! you are now ready to reassemble your clock which is somewhat tricky but given you've come this far with your heirloom it shouldn't be too much trouble except for those 4 pesky wood screws. Clockmakers have a special colleted split screwdriver that grips the sides of the screw slot while they are being started in their previous cozy holes. You will doubltless have much joy trying to get them in with a magnetic screwdriver. Good Luck! A full Westminster chime brass movement gets surprisingly heavy very quickly and the silvered brass dial in the case is only about 0.015" (15 thou) thick. It's the bit you see and is easily damaged while trying to align 3 winding stems AND the silent/chime lever into their correct holes while balancing wood screw on the end of a magnetic screwdriver. Did I also mention that those projecting lugs are normally held on by only one screw or nut and they have an amazing ability to become mobile (thus rendering the screwholes in the wooden case useless unless you can manage to re-align the lugs exactly where they were. Fear not though, it can be done and you will surprise yourself with your new found agility, dexterity and vocabulary. (Hint, use a mirror to make sure the clock is correctly aligned with its winding holes and the silent/chime lever is in its slot while you try to insert the screws from the back)

Professional clockmakers will of course tut tut (or laugh convulsively) at this treatment of your clock. They will say it should be removed from the case, barrels taken out, and the whole mechanisim stripped down to its component parts, cleaned, brasswork polished, steelwork polished, screwsand levers polished and 'blued' in a bluing pan, reassembled with kid gloves (another clockmaking term - a single fingerprint will etch itself into a brass plate and forever condemn an errant apprentice) all holes must be pegged out with pegwood to clean every last trace of dirt or abrasive, oiled with the correct oils and lovingly re-assembeled. They will also probably quote you upwards of �£300 for the job.

OK, now having got through all that there is one possible simple remedy. Remove the pendulum, switch the clock from silent to chime then move the lever firmly back again, turn the clock upside down and give it a gentle shake, turn it the right way up, switch the chime on and off again, untangle any crossed chime hammers, replace the pendulum (you probably have to reset it into beat again) and hopefully within an hour's running time its innards should have sorted themselves out again and it will strike correctly without further ado.

PM if you want more details as I have a friend's clock waiting on some TLC and I can do a blow by blow with pics for you.

[ 13. February 2007, 02:56 AM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

That's a bit brief Frogeseque. :D

 

Yes, we need more detail, Froggy! :D

Really, Jjordie - I'd go to Fife and get Froggy to do it for you, then you can transport him back and forwards to the A+E.......

 

Wonderful Frogescue.

Jjordie - you will find the name of specialist clock repairers in yellow pages.

BTW - once you get it stopped chiming 49 times - I would just leave it on. I have a wall clock with a westminster chime - 8 day movement - quarter strike. After the first few days, I just didn't and don't hear the chimes when I'm watching TV or the like - certainly doesn't disturb any dramatic moment - sport or otherwise :D :D

Stopping and starting the chimes often, may harm what is a beautiful clock.

 

Thanks all for your suggestions and especially for your input Frogesque! I really enjoyed reading it and as it seems a trifle complicated and obviously some dexterity is required, I think Yellow Pages will be perused - or we could pop up to Fife :D

I did have one more try yesterday and when it got to the hour it just kept chiming so I thought I would leave it to see how long it would go - but it kept on and on and at quarter past the hour I thought that it should stop now because of the quarter chime but no it didn't, so reluctantly had to switch it off.
:(

 

Just for interest, I copied all that post, dumped it onto a document and did a word count - 1,792 words! That's some essay, frogesque!!

 

"".....pendulum, switch the clock from silent to chime then move the lever firmly back again, turn the clock upside down and give it a gentle shake,.....""

With regard to the above suggestion by frogesque
I thought I should report the following :

Husband followed the instructions and gently shook the clock and from somewhere out of it fell 2 hairpins (I have never used hairpins but grandmother did) 2 drawing pins and a small rubber band!


The offending objects were removed and the clock was re-started.

It has been going for several hours now, chiming on the quarters and the hours but not the correct number for the hours yet but hoping it will right itself.

Thanks for your help frogesque :D

 

The question arises, of how exactly the offending objects got in there!! Love it, Jjordie - and hope it does right itself, before too long.