Expert: John Newman - 10/10/2009

Question
We moved our clock then set it up again. It works fine but will not run for 8 days. We get 6.5 days from a winding.

Is there any reason for this?

Thanks
Doug

Answer
Doug, there are a few reasons a clock will stop after a certain number of days.  I don't know the model of the movement so I'll just give you some general reasons.  If it is a cable driven movement, it could be that the time (center) cable became loose when the weight was removed and it became tangled.  It could have happened at a point after the cable has unwound for the 6.5 day time period.  Therefore, it would catch on the tangle and stop.  An unlikely cause in your case, but I will mention it, is that some movements have a function that keeps the weights from being wound too high or unwinding too far.  It is called a stopworks.  It is set at the factory or after it has been dismantled for service.  If it is not reassembled properly, the winding can be shortened which would account for the early stoppage.  But, as this was not done, this would not likely.  One more thing that could be causing it is called "Sympathetic Vibrations".  If the clock is not stable on the floor, or on soft carpet, the swinging of the pendulum can cause the clock to swing slightly. This is practically undetectable but is does happen.  When the weights descend to the same effective length of the pendulum, they will start swinging and stop the clock.  The fix for this is to secure the clock to the wall or make a board with spiked feet to put under the clock.  If needed, contact me at my shop email address I will send you a photo of one.  One other thing I just thought of and that is to check to see if the clock is in beat which means that the tick tock is even.  An out of beat clock will eventually stop, depending how much it is out of beat, and coupled with the swinging of the clock could stop it at the level of the weights described above.  If you have an auto beat escapement, which most modern grandfather clocks do, you can hold the pendulum over to one side and release it.  It will correct itself into the autobeat.  Try the things I have outlined above and let me know what you find.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama
klokdok@juno.com

Note:  Because of the number of Allexpert questions and follow ups,
and the excessive backlog in my shop, I regret that I can only answer
the Allexperts questions at this time.