Expert: Martin Meyer - 1/24/2009

Question
I purchased a French clock that chimes 2 times.  The chime is really loud.  Can I make it softer? If we want to have a lower tone on the chime do I replace the bell?  Also I need to find out how to stop chime at night.  Thanks for you help

Answer
Hi Sharley,

Apparently this is a bell strike, rather than a chime rod or gong strike clock. There is very little room for adjustment of the strike hammer to soften the sound; if you try bending the strike hammer shaft to move the hammer farther away from the bell, the result will probably be an erratic striking sound, possibly missing some strikes altogether. On bell strike clocks it is sometimes possible to mute the sound somewhat by wrapping cloth adhesive tape around the metal hammer face. Other than that, there is no adjustment for muting the sound.


If your clock has a Chime/Silent lever it will most likely be a lever that extends through the dial. Many clocks do not have a function to turn off the chime. In this case, there is no safe way to temporarily turn off the chime. http://www.clockmasteronline.com