Expert: William J Perkins - 3/13/2008

Question
Hi, I have a Howard Miller floor clock (Urban?), approx 6 years old.  It has worked flawlessly, but guests grew tired of the strike and chimes so I turned them off for a while, then due to extensive traveling I stopped the clock completely for a few months.  The problem began upon restarting the clock.  The chimes and strike got back on schedule within the first day but now the strike will not stop even though the chimes were doing fine.  Does this sound like an easy consumer repair, or should I go straight to a house call?  Thank you.

Answer
This frequently happens when a clock is allowed to got dormant.  The lubricants have a tendancy to coagulate.  Sometime the clock overcomes this by simply going to work.  Other times he will require fresh lubricant.  Still others he might require the services of a qualified clock mechanic.  In this instance I believe it would be entirely appopriated for you to invest in a clock lubrication kit.  I recently noted one at <howtorepairclocks.com/clock-oil.html>  I am sure there are many others avialbe on the Internet, this just happens to be fresh ih mind.  Regards WJP