Expert: William J Perkins - 6/14/2008

Question
My clock did chime recently, but it would chime on the hour two times more than the hour it was on, i.e. 8:00 it would chime 10 times. I did receive a response that told me to move the minute hand about 10 times to different hours (slowly & carefully) and I did..The trouble since then (2 days ago) Now the clock doesn't chime at all, not even on the 15, 30 or quarter of time no less the hour.  Can you advise what I should do now?  I have regularly had this clock maintained, tuned etc..but do not want to go through the expense right now if it's a small problem that can be fixed easily.  Thanks for any help you can give me.

Answer
I fear the release lever for the chime train is locked into its up position.  The fact that the clock does not strike tells me the problem is in the chime mechanism.  To correct this problem you would need access to the wheels, gears etc., that are located on the movement frontplate.  In other words you will need to get the dial out of the way.  Before I go any further I must know the level of confidence you have in undertaking such an operation.  Should you be secure in your mind about this task I would suggest you expose the movements backplate to view so you can copy down and send me ALL THE INFORMATION that is stamped upon that backplate.  With that information I might be able to locate an exploded view of your movement or one very similar.  With that available I could probably describe to you the steps you need take.  This could be a very simple job or a very complicated one.  We must detiremine which before proceeding.  Regards WJP