Expert: Martin Meyer - 10/17/2009

Question
How change I remove an existing movement and fit a new one(small 2  1/2battery unit?"

Answer
Hi Corinna,

Your question is very general and I don't know what type of movement you are changing from, so I will answer with the assumption that you are replacing a quartz movement with a new quartz movement. If you are changing from a mechanical movement to a quartz, the procedure would be much more complicated and beyond the scope of this forum.

The two main considerations are getting a movement that fits in the space available inside your clock, and getting the correct handshaft length, so that the hands are neither too close to the dial, nor sticking out so far that it looks odd or hits the front glass (if your clock has one).

Mounting the movement is usually relatively easy. Pull the second hand straight off (if the clock has one) or unscrew the nut on the end of the handshaft. Then unscrew the small nut that holds the minute hand on, and pull the minute hand and the hour hand straight off. There will usually be a single nut with a brass washer beneath it holding the movement onto the dial. Remove the nut and washer and the movement will come out from the back side of the dial. Sometimes there is some double-sided tape or glue holding the movement onto the dial. Remove this with a thin, not sharp, knife and the movement will come out. Replacement is simply this procedure in reverse. http://www.clockmasteronline.com