Expert: Martin Meyer - 6/8/2008

Question
My 1931 Westminster striking clock seems to be slower on the first quarter of
the striking mechanism then the rest the striking mechanism has being looked
at  by my  clock shop and has being re-oiled for £ 75.00 pounds.Now it stops
after 5 days but only the striking part not the clock .there is anything I can
toadjust to make it work properly. Your help is appreiciated.

Answer
Hi Max,

If your clock has been properly oiled, and if you are winding all three mainsprings fully, as far as they will go, every week, the symptoms you describe indicate most likely wear in the movement's bearings. Wear can both cause the chime to be slow, and also make the chiming stop prematurely.

Just to clarify, the Chime is the Westminster melody, and the Strike is the hour count on the hour. The chime requires more power to operate than the time or the strike, so is likely to wear more severely, as well as malfunction more readily.

One more thing to consider is the chime mainspring. The mainsprings lose their strength ("springiness") over time. If your clock still has its original mainsprings, it is very likely that all three of them are worn out and should be replaced. A weak mainspring can cause the clock to run down short of its correct full-week period.