Expert: Martin Meyer - 9/12/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a 25ish year old regulator clock, given to my husband by his grandmother prior to her death.  Somehow, in his absence, a relative managed to crank the spring(s) too tightly and the interior of the clock virtually fell apart.  I've been told it isn't cost effective to repair a mechanical movement clock, and to convert it to a quartz movement, but due to sentimental values (my husband, as a little boy, got to crank the key to wind the clock up) we'd like to keep the mechanical movement.  I think the clock was made in Korea and I can provide pictures of the pieces that are laying inside.

ANSWER: Hi Kara,

You're facing several potential problems in trying to save this movement. First, I don't know exactly what damage has been done to the clock. It takes a lot of force to wind a clock of this type so hard that  the movement actually falls apart. The worst-case possibility is that the mainspring snapped and, in turn, broke the shaft of the next gear in the train (the 2nd wheel). If this is the case, the movement is not repairable in any remotely cost-effective way.

Next, even if the movement is repairable, you are dealing with a movement that is 5-10 years past its expected lifespan, and probably needs additional work, such as rebushing of worn-out bearings. Furthermore, most Korean movements are "31- Day" movements, and many clockmakers prefer not to work on them, because of certain design and metallurgical weaknesses.

Your other option is to replace the movement with a new mechanical movement. It is very unlikely that you would be able to find a movement identical to your 25 year old Korean movement, so you would need to replace the dial as well, because the holes in the dial for the hand shaft and winding shafts will not line up with the shafts in the new movement.

In summary, it is probably possible to repair your original movement or replace it with another mechanical movement, but the cost will be high. I appreciate that sentimental value cannot be measured in dollars, and that such a repair may be well worth it to you. However, whoever suggested a quartz movement replacement was undoubtedly calculating cost-effectiveness (quite reasonably) on the basis of cost of repair versus objective value of the clock.  http://www.clockmasteronline.com

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QUESTION: Hello - First I'd like to thank you for your response.  Second, I am going to try to replace the parts that are damaged, but only those parts.  How would I go about finding the "build" or a diagram of the clock that I have, I was shown a few places that have numbers on them, I'm not at home right now, but could get those numbers or photograph the parts or whatever the case may be.  I just need to find a way to see how much is still there.  If this helps, the two springs or whatever they are (look like big spirals laying next to eachother), one is for the "chime" and the other for the "time", those are both ok, although one is now off center (i'm thinking tha'ts the one that got so bent up).  Would it be easiest for me to catalog all the parts?  Since they are all just laying all over the place inside the body of the clock?

Answer
Hi again Kara,

You will probably not be able to find a detailed diagram of this movement and its parts. I have only seen such diagrams or parts listings for a couple of the major German movement manufacturers.

Regarding replacing broken parts, parts for a Korean movement, particularly one that is so old, will not be available from any source that I know of. When clockmakers repair such movements, they custom fabricate parts as needed. When the part in question is a gear or other complex piece, the cost for this is quite steep. This is why it is not cost-effective to repair such a movement.

The mainspring that is "off center" probably has that appearance because it is broken, unhooked from the center stud on its shaft, or the "click" (the ratchet that holds the mainspring wound) is broken.

If the two main plates, which hold all the gears between them, are intact, and no parts have come out from between them, your problem is less severe. If the main plates have separated and gears or other parts have come out from between them, repair will be very difficult. Reassembling the plates of a movement with all the gears between them, then indexing those gears so that the strike train operates, is a very complicated process. In addition, the mainsprings must be wound and clamped before you can reassemble the movement.

Going into any more detail on this issue would be beyond the scope of this forum. However, if you would like to send me, at my website, clear, closeup photos of the parts that have come out of the clock, I will be happy to attempt to identify the parts and provide whatever guidance I can regarding repairing and reassembling them. Please send the photos to my email address, which you will find at: http://www.clockmasteronline.com