Expert: Martin Meyer - 4/21/2008

Question
QUESTION: The middle weight on our Herman Miller clock dropped off. Repairman diagnosed bad center gear and replaced it. 30 days after warranty expired only center weight moves down and no chiming. It also appears that the center weight is cocked with bottom toward left. Can you please recommend someone near Rochester Hills MI 48307 that could look at it? I certainly don't want to use the previous shop. Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Mark,

I don't personally know a clock repair service in your area, However, you can search the American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute website, www.awci.com . Click on "Referral Directory" on the left hand side bar, then enter your city, and you will get a list of AWCI member professional clock repairers. Also, you can search on Google Local, http://local.google.com , for clock repairers in your area.

As general information (and I stress that I don't know the details of your clock, the problem, or what the repairer did), some Howard Miller movements had a defective sprocket for a brief period of time. Howard Miller Co. will replace those movements free of charge during the warranty period, and also for an extended period after the warranty has expired. You would have to contact the company at www.howardmiller.com for details on warranty replacement periods. You can also find a list of Howard Miller factory authorized Independent Service Centers on this site.

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QUESTION: Thank you for such a fast and helpful repsonse Martin.  I wish you were located nearby! For a clock such as mine, can you give me any (even ballpark) of what a new movement would/should cost?

Answer
Hi again Mark,

I can't give any idea of what a movement replacement would cost in your area, as prices vary extremely widely by region.

I would be able to give you a rough estimate of what I would charge for such a movement replacement for someone in my area. I also do this type of work through my website, www.clockmasteronline.com , but of course doing this job via my website would require you to remove the movement from the clock and send it to me, then you you would have to reinstall the new movement assembly in your clock yourself. For this additional information, please contact me at my website, where an email link is provided for you. I would also need to know the information stamped on the back plate of the movement in your clock.