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Question
Hi, I recently acquired a Howard Miller wall clock with a Hermle 341-020 movement. At first it wouldn't chime or strike the hour at all. After I lightly oiled the movement it started chiming quarterly but somewhat off-tune and now it never stop for about 10 minutes after being set off. In other words it chimes for about 40 minutes out of every hour. After watching the movement, I see what engages the chime :that seems to work properly. But the disengaging part looks wrong, it doesn't stop chiming until the minute hand cam lifts the stop lever into the chime flywheel stop pin. Am I missing a spring that should lift the lever up sooner? A picture of what the fault could be would be most helpful. Any advice you could shear with me will be greatly appreciated. This really is out of my line of work. Thanks, Simon
Hi Simon,
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The chime mechanism is quite complicated. You are not missing a spring. The lever which is lifted by the star wheel on the minute hand shaft so that it contacts a pin on one of the gears is not a stop lever, it is the warning lever, and its function is not to stop the chiming at the end of the sequence.
Observe the front plate of the movement and you will see two circular parts above and to the right of the center (minute hand) shaft. I have attached a photo showing these parts. (The parts are not labeled in this photo because I usually use it to illustrate a different function.) The part on the left is the chime locking disk. It has a pin on its underside (you can see the base of that pin in the photo as a steel-colored dot. The circular but irregular-shaped part to the right of the locking disk is the chime end disk. There is also a long lever above both these parts. When the chiming comes to an end, this lever drops down into one of the slots in the end disk. When this happens, another section of the lever drops down behind the locking disk, and the pin on the back of the locking disk is caught by the lever, stopping the locking disk's rotation. This stopping of the movement of the locking disk is what stops the chiming. What usually causes the problem that you describe is that this pin on the back of the locking disk breaks off, so the chiming continues endlessly, unless the warning mechanism happens to stop it.
To correct the problem, the locking disk must be replaced, but there are a couple complications. First, the positioning of the locking disk so that its pin is in exactly the right position relative to the end disk to stop the chiming is very precise and difficult to get right. Second, Hermle has changed the design of the locking disk (probably because of this problem), and the new design is not interchangeable with the old one. The new design must be machined to a slightly different dimension. The old-style locking disk, as far as I know, is no longer available from clock parts suppliers. You may be able to find one from some supplier that I don't know of, or you may be able to get one from a clockmaker with a large stock of old parts.
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Answers by Expert:
Martin Meyer
Expertise
Can answer repair and service questions for most types of clocks, antique and modern, mechanical and battery. NO watches, appraisals, identification, history, dating, or questions about cuckoo clocks. Website for Modern and Antique Clock Repair: Clockmasteronline.com
Experience
24 Years as owner and repairman of clock repair business, 28 years in the field. Factory Independent Service Center for Howard Miller, Ridgeway and (formerly) Sligh Clocks. Specializing in Fine Antique Longcase (grandfather) clocks. Clock repair Website: (Please remove "Not" from the address - this is a spam protection): www.NotClockmasteronline.com
Organizations
AWCI (American Watchmakers and Clockmakers Institute) and NAWCC (National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors)
Publications
Am also an Expert in the "AllExperts-Antiques-Antique Clocks" Category.
Education/Credentials
Trained by a former Rolex Asia watchmaker, and by a Master Watchmaker/Clockmaker.
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