Expert: John Newman - 12/12/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello there and thanks for your time and expertise.  I have a Scottish longcase clock circa 1830 with all original movement.  It has been in the family continuously and the story was that the clockmaker in Scotland was a family member.  I inherited it about 5 years ago and had difficulty getting it to run after shipment and had it cleaned, oiled, and inspected and ran fine until I needed to paint and move it.  I believe I moved it properly (I removed weights and pendulum)and bolted it back to the wall, made sure all was level, and placed everything back.  When I put the pendulum back the springsteel snapped so I took it in for replacement and haven't been able to get it to run since.  I don't belive the replacement is at issue as it looks exactly like the previous piece and fits in the notch just fine.  However, when wound and with the pendulum set in motion the anchor escapement just goes back and fourth but never picks up any teeth.  After a short period of time I hear something that clunks like something is slipping and the pendulum stops shortly afterward since it's not being driven.  I am unable to get it to pick up a tooth by moving the pendulum its maximum.  Could the gut be bound on the spindle somewhere and be prevent the weights from driving?  Also how do I go about dropping my weights should binding become an issue?
 In the past I have been able to resolve stopping issues by adjusting the level.  However right now everything is level and the pendulum is swinging freely (not scraping the back of the case).  There does not appear to be any major dust accumulation or anything on any parts either.  I sincerely appreciate any help you can give.  The clock repair man passed away that cleaned it for me before and I take great pride in keeping out family heirloom running and in great condition.
Thanks!
Jennifer

ANSWER: Hi, Jennifer.  I think you are on the right track.  The suspension spring should not have anything to do with the problem you are having.  The "clunk" bothers me in that it could be that the escapement pawls catching on the teeth of the escapement wheel.  This can damage the wheel.  This sometimes happens when the wheel does not turn because there is no power to it.  This means that something is binding from the drum through the gearing to the escapement wheel.  Does the clock have a seconds hand and if so, is it catching on the face of the clock?  If this checks out, let's look at the gut.  When a weight is removed without restraining the gut, the gut can come loose and jump over on the winding arbor.  When this happens it tangles and jams the drum on which the cable was wound.  To correct this the weight needs to be removed and the gut untangled and inspected for fraying.  Sometimes this takes an experienced clockmaker.  Let me know what you find.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama





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

QUESTION: Thanks for the quick response.  My clock does have a second hand.  It operates in a separate circle within the face (I have eattached a close-up of the face)and it moves forward and back like the anchor but does not advance.  I've tried advancing it as well as the anchor and it will pick up a tooth or two but does not advance beyond that.  The gut on the drums may be tangled, as it does not look perfectly wound (not sure how to describe but the first couple of loops are not lined up one after another in the grooves).  Is there way I can unwind them as they are fully wound at the moment?  I am pretty proficient mechanically, and as this seems like a fairly common problem with my clock (it has bound before when I wound it too fast) and I was able to get it unwound by frequently starting the pendulum and it gradually dropped past the point of the bind.  However I have not had any luck with that this time, so I would like to learn how to do this at home if at all possible.  I can't find anyone to make housecall out to my area and packing up the clock and moving it at it's age is less than desirable.
Thanks so much!

Answer
Jennifer, I apologize about not getting back to you a little sooner, lots of work going on!  To untangle the gut, you need to remove the heavy weight so it doesn't crimp the gut.  On the cable drum is the drive wheel (gear# with the teeth on it.  Somewhere near the drum is a smaller circle of teeth that lay down rather than stick straight out like the drive wheel.  These are the ratchet teeth.  A pawl is held down on the ratchet teeth buy a spring and allows the drum to be turned in one direction only while winding.  The pawl is also called a click.  That's because when the clock is wound it clicks.  Brilliant technology, isn't it?  To unwind the gut #remember, no weight on it) a long thin tool such as a thin screwdriver is used to push the pawn away from the ratchet so it can be unwound.  If the spring that holds the teeth against the teeth is the type that can be temporarily pushed off the pawl, the job is much easier.  Once the gut is fully unwound, put the spring back on the pawl.  Now hold the gut taught while the drum is wound back up, making sure the gut is tracking without spreading on the drum or crossing over on the previous turn.  A soon as the pulley on the gut is high enough to hang the weight, the weight can be hung.  Remember to keep the gut taught while hanging the weight.  I hope this works.  If you have further questions, get back with me.

John Newman