Expert: William J Perkins - 6/16/2008

Question
My mother has a coo coo clock that she bought some years ago in Germany.  I had to take it down to repair a wall. In doing so, I accidently bent the wire that the pendulum hangs on, I have tried to straighten it up but when I put it back on the wall the pendulum starts but stops after about 30 seconds or so.  When I remove the wood part of the pendulum it will work (very fast) and keep working. I have tried several times to put the wood part back on but it stops every time.  Do you have any suggestions?

Answer
The symptoms you describe are indicative of several basic problems.  1.  The clock needs cleaning and adjustment.  2.  The pendulum problem has caused the clock to go out of beat.  The fact that the clock quick beats with the wood leaf pendulum bob off is strongly indicative of the need for cleaning.  To determine if the clock is out of beat, put the pendulum bob back on the pendulum and start the clock in motion.  Listen intently to the sound that it makes, if it is not a uniform tick-tick the clock is out of beat.  To correct this problem you will need to gain access to the pendulum leader and the pendulum crutch.  The pendulum leader is the wire upon which you hang the pendulum.  The pendulum crutch is the wire member that has a loop bent into its bottom and through which the pendulum leader must pass.  This connection is the device that controls the running of the clock.  If it does not swing properly the clock cannot run.  When a clock goes out of beat it is corrected by changing the angle of the crutch to the anchor, bending, the wire very slightly to the right or to the left. Then testing the results for improvement to the beat, if it is better, bend some more in the same direction until a solid even beat is achieved.  If the the clock sounds worse
you need to bend in the opposite direction, following the same routine until the beat is corrected.  Frankly I believe your clock needs cleaning and any other discusion is moot.  Regards WJP