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About Martin Meyer
Expertise
Can answer repair and service questions for most types of clocks, antique and modern, mechanical and battery. NO appraisals, identification, history, dating, or questions about cuckoo clocks or watches. Website for Modern and Antique Clock Repair: Clockmasteronline.com

Experience
23 Years as owner and repairman of clock repair business, 28 years in the field. Factory Independent Service Center for Howard Miller, Ridgeway and (formerly) Sligh Clocks. Specializing in Fine Antique Longcase (grandfather) clocks. Clock Repair Website (Please remove "Not" from the address - this is a spam protection): www.NotClockmasteronline.com

Organizations
AWCI (American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute) and NAWCC (National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors)

Education/Credentials
Trained by a former Rolex Asia watchmaker, and by a Master Watchmaker/Clockmaker.

You are here: Experts > Style > Antiques > Antique Clocks > Empire make bracket clock

Antique Clocks - Empire make bracket clock

Expert: Martin Meyer - 8/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi, It is an "Empire" England make movement in this mantle clock. I have just got it and was trying to set it up. The instructions on the back says " when the pendulum swings if you dont hear a tic-tock then move the crutch to the left or right. This part about moving the crutch is not very clear to me. There is a thin metal strip on the top end of the crutch. When the pendulum swings, it is sort of shuddering and the swing is affected. The metal strip is obviously not being able to swing in the right way, hence the shudder I guess. Before I do something stupid, I thought you could describe it a bit more clearly.
IMAGE: Empire , English Mantle clock

ANSWER: Hi Suresh,

I think you are confusing the crutch and the pendulum leader. I have attached a photo of a movement showing these parts; this is a different movement, but the basic parts are the same.

The pendulum connects to the pendulum leader, and the leader connects to the suspension spring, which is mounted on the movement by a horizontal post. The crutch is the brass strip-like part which emerges from the movement, goes down vertically roughly parallel to the pendulum leader, then connects to the leader at its bottom end.

When you don't hear a tick, it is because the pendulum is "out of beat". Moving the crutch to one side or the other in very small amounts past the point where you feel resistance will reset the beat. This is a very precise operation, and it will probably take several attempts to get the ticking correct. When properly adjusted, the clock will make a "tick-tick-tick" sound like a metronome; if it is out of beat the sound will be uneven: "tick-TOCK-tick-TOCK".

The shuddering of the suspension spring that you describe is probably what is called a pendulum "wobble". This can be caused by a number of things, including a bent spring, a pendulum that hangs crooked on the leader, a loose pendulum bob, or a loosely mounted suspension spring. However, the suspension spring on your clock is quite long. This often causes an initial wobble when the pendulum is started swinging, which goes away by itself as the pendulum settles down to a normal swing. I would recommend, once you have set the beat, starting the pendulum swinging as evenly as possible, then waiting a few minutes to see if the wobble goes away.
IMAGE: Pendulum leader assembly

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Martin, I have tried that several times. I have also discovered that that the shudder was being caused because inside where the escapement is interacting with the wheel, since pendulum is not adequately swinging, the escapement tooth is hitting he wheel's tooth on its tip and making the wheel go back instead of moving to the next tooth. Tick-tick is not yet coming. It swings but the swing i feel is inadequate. At what point should i catch the crutch when i apply pressure? And am i expected to apply pressure to a point the crutch will bend slightly or not? An additional info is that when i recd the clock and set it up two days ago, the tick was there. Then i lifted the clock and placed it on another table while the pendulam was fixed. Would that have caused the problem?. Can you also tell me what actually we are doing when we apply the pressure to the crutch ? Is it being made to move inside the plate more ? . What makes the tick sound . is it the movement ? I hope i get it right this time. thanks for your patience.

Answer
Hi again Suresh,

This is a very complicated issue involving escapement mechanics. First, note that it is the escapement which transfers power to the pendulum by means of the escape wheel tooth (powered by the weight or mainspring) pushing on the pallets (tips of the verge) and thus making the pendulum swing - not vice versa. Therefore, if the pendulum does not have sufficient swing, it is because it is not being pushed enough by the force of the escape wheel tooth against the verge pallet; thus the insufficient swing of the pendulum is the EFFECT of the escapement problem, not the CAUSE.

The verge is not DIRECTLY making the escape tooth go backwards. The escape wheel is not able to supply enough push to the pallet to make the verge pivot sufficiently to release the tooth and, in turn, allow the opposite verge pallet to pivot downward into the path of another escape tooth, which would then push that verge pallet up, supplying another burst of power and making the pendulum swing back in the opposite direction. Because the escape tooth could not clear the pallet, when the pendulum swings back (with only residual power, rather than with the power of a new push), the verge pushes back on the original escape tooth, and the pendulum effectively stalls.

Now, to address the cause of the escape wheel's insufficient power. These causes divide into two general categories. First, the gear train of the clock may not be delivering sufficient power to the escape wheel. This can be due to wear in the bearings of the gear shafts, need for lubrication, or old and weakened mainsprings. Second, the escapement itself may be incorrectly adjusted, and the power loss may be the result of the pallet faces contacting the escape wheel teeth at the wrong points.

Escapement adjustment is quite complicated, and must be extremely precise. Additionally, there are two types of escapements used in modern clocks, the Deadbeat and the Recoil, and their adjustments are entirely different. Going into the specifics of this is well beyond the scope of this forum but, in very simplified form, the pallet face must contact the escape tooth deeply enough to deliver a push of optimum power, but it must also be high enough to pivot out of the way of the escape tooth, so that the escape wheel can continue to turn. When the verge is set too deep and the escape wheel cannot turn, the escape wheel is referred to as "locked". When the verge is set too high, the pallet face barely contacts the escape wheel and essentially skips over it without receiving sufficient power from it. It is possible that, when you moved the clock with the pendulum on it, the weight of the swinging pendulum pulled the mounting plate of the verge down deeper, and thus locked the pallets. This can happen if the screws on the verge mounting plate are not adequately tight.

Regarding adjusting the crutch: There are two designs for this adjustment. On some clocks, the crutch is actually bent slightly when you push it, thus shifting its dead-center point. On other clocks, the verge is mounted on its shaft by a clutch mechanism and, when you push the crutch, the verge is shifted slightly in its position on the shaft. Your clock more likely has the latter design.

The net effect of this adjustment, for either design, is to change the dead center position of the verge, and therefore, of the pendulum. This, in turn, allows the pendulum to swing an identical distance from dead center to the left as it swings from dead center to the right. This is the definition of being "in beat". Being in beat is essential because if the pendulum swings farther in one direction than it does in the other, it will lose a small amount of power at each swing, and will eventually lose enough power to come to a stop. The "tick" is the sound of an escape wheel tooth hitting a pallet face each time an opposite tooth is released by the other pallet face. This is why the regularity of the tick sound indicates the accuracy of the beat. http://www.clockmasteronline.com

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