Expert: Michael Radi - 12/15/2009

Question
QUESTION: The grandmother clock that my dad made for our wedding (26 yrs. ago) has run perfectly all these years.  We recently closed off the living room to save energy so I didn't notice that the weights were low.  I looked in yesterday and they had completely run down.  I adjusted the weights and restarted the pendulum but it will not keep running.  My dad passed away last year so I can't ask him what to do.  I seem to remember this happening once before but after a couple of restarts, it continued.  I have restarted it 10 times and watched it stop itself after 3 minutes each time.  What should I do?

ANSWER: You may have to put the clock in beat. Listen to the ticking and see if the ticks are evenly spaced in time (like a persons footsteps). If it is uneven, push the pendulum in the direction that the tick happens too early. Then swing the pendulum and listen again.
You may have to remove the pendulum and make this adjustment by pushing the pendulum hanger from side to side. You will notice that is pushes easily for an inch or two then you will feel resistance. Pushing it into this resistance is where the adjustment is being made.
From center, you should be able to push is left to right, equal distances, up to the point of resistance.

Let me know if you need more help
Michael
www.norkro.com
clock parts and repair


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

QUESTION: It was uneven; pushing didn't seem to make a difference; removed pendulum and pushed; obviously did something wrong - now there is no ticking at all!

Answer
I think it's still out of beat. You may have pushed it too far to one side and need to push it the other direction to get it back into adjustment.
With the pendulum off, push the pendulum hanger left to right and listen for the tick. If it ticks at all it will probably be off to one side. To get it back to the middle push it the other direction until you feel resistance, then push it into that resistance a little more. You should be able to adjust it so that the ticks are evenly spaced (left to right) from the center of that hanger.
This is not a difficult adjustment but may be a little hard to understand. If I'm not explaining this clear enough there are many postings on this website and other sites. Do a search for "putting a clock in  beat".