Expert: John Newman - 11/21/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have my mother's Herschede grandfather (grandmother?) clock that she bought in 1972.  It worked for a few years and then stopped.  I would like to give it to my son & his wife, but need to get it working.  I can't find any information about it. Where do I start looking?

I also have a Barwick/Howard Miller clock that I bought about the same time (1972) and it stopped, too. It is model #4892 and registered #54375.  I think the pendulum suspension spring is broken because it does not look like the diagram pasted on the back of the clock.  Where can I find more information?

Thank you

ANSWER: Ron, I just send you an answer, but I received a note from Allexperts that said it did not send.

For the Herschede, I have included below, my standard instructions on diagnosing a clock not running.  

For the Barwick, I would need to know the information found on the back of the clock movement.  Then I can determine the correct suspension spring.  It would help if you could send a clear digital photo of the back of the movement including the hanger (goes between the suspension spring and pendulum) to my shop email address below.


I have very little cross information on modern clock case numbers
to the actual movements used in them.  For any additional discussion
I would need the information found on the back of the movement plate.
You did not give me any symptoms as far as what the problems are, so I
don't know if this is a clock that you recently acquired with no
history of the failure.  If you have owned the clock for a while,
did it fail abruptly or did the chimes, strike or running fail slowly
or intermittently?  I'll give you a series of levels to consider.


The first level is the setup.  If a clock movement is in operating
condition but not working, I would check the stability of the clock
in that it doesn't rock or wobble on the floor.  Next, verify that
the weights are hung correctly.  On most clocks the weights vary in
weight.  This can be determined by the model of the movement.
Is the pendulum hanging configuration correct?  This means that
the suspension spring, hanger (Emperor calls this the Suspension Arm),
verge (Emperor name, the Anchor Arm Assy.) and pendulum are all connected
properly with nothing broken, especially the suspension spring,
meaning that when the pendulum swings you hear an even
tick....tock....tick....tock.  If it is uneven, like
tick..tock......tick..tock, the clock will
probably stop.  This can be corrected by a manual adjustment of the knurled
nut on the "Anchor Arm Assy.

Level 2 concerns Maintenance, which includes cleaning, inspecting, oiling and
adjusting.  In the inspection, the movement is checked for adjustments, broken or
worn parts.  If there are any broken or worn parts, we go to the
third level. If all parts are okay, a good clock oil and grease is
used.  In most cases the movement should be removed from the case
to have access to all the lubrication points.  Clock lubricants
can be bought from clock suppliers.  Using lubricants for other
applications can cause problems, as some lubricants are not
compatible with others.  This even applies to different clock oils.  
After lubricating, the operation is checked for final adjustments.

The third level, Repair, requires that the movement be broken down and all
parts inspected and repaired or replaced, and then reassembled
lubricated, adjusted and tested.  I do not recommend this except
by an experienced clockmaker.





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

(Due to the number of Allexperts questions and
the workload I have at my clock shop, I regret
that I cannot answer personal email questions on a timely basis
other than Allexperts follow ups.)


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for a prompt response. It is difficult for me to get to the inside to look for more information.  However, by your description I think both clocks were badly needing maintenance and cleanup because I hadn't done anything to them for over 15 years. So I finally found someone locally to make a "house call."  It's very expensive and I learned a lesson to take better care of these beautiful time pieces.  Thank you for helping.

Answer
You're welcome, Ron.  I don't know what "very expensive" would mean to you, but here are some guidelines to go by.  It is the unofficial general consensus of my Internet Clocksmiths Group that a good reference shop rate is to go by the automobile dealership shop rates in the area in which you live.  Labor rates do vary greatly across the U.S.  I recommend that a modern production clock movement be serviced every 7 to 10 years.  This opinion does differ between clockmakers.  In my area, the cost for a house call which requires field cleaning, inspection for worn or broken parts, (correcting them if possible in the home), oiling and adjusting would be around $150 to $200 depending on the travel involved.  The shop work would be a little more, if the movement had to be taken in for more extensive work.  If serviced properly every 10 years it would cost you an average of $15 to $20 a year.  If it had not been serviced for the last 10 to 20 years or more, wear could have taken place which would require a major overhaul or replacement if the cost of the overhaul reached or exceeded the cost of a replacement.  I hope this helps a little.

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