Expert: William J Perkins - 9/8/2008

Question
I just had my clock repaired (it's been in my family since 1915).  One of the chime rods was broken, so they repaired it and the chime was off a note because of it (it did not produce the typical Westminster chime "song").  So I took it back and they for them to all sound the same they had to place it with a tuned set.  So they did.  Well, the new rods are like 1/4 the size of the old ones and needless to say the sound is not nearly as rich as it once was.  He said the big rods cannot be found any longer.  Is that true?

Answer
Nonsense!  To begin with I cant imagine a qualified repair person installing an untuned chime rod in the first place.  If there is not a tuned rod available, the next option is to acquire a new tuned set of rods, that failing then you would buy a whole new chime rod assembly, i.e. tuned rods and a base.  I suggest you goto <timesavers.com> to view TimeSavers on-line catalog.  I am sure you will find what you need there.  TimeSavers specializes in clock materials.  Other such houses you might try are; Merritt's Antiques @ <merritts.com>   Ronell Clocks @ <ronellclock.com>
Let me know if I can be of help.  Regards WJP