You are here:

Clocks, Watches/cuckoo clock manufaturing

Advertisement

Expert: - 12/16/2009


Question

mantel clock
I purchased a mantel clock by the above manufacturer and would like some information about the company and this type of clock by them. It keeps good time and everything seems to work except the chimes sound flat and short. I haven't watched it operate yet is there one thing in particular I should look for? We presume it was made in the forties or fifties since the address has no zip code.

Answer
Mike, if you will Google "cuckoo clock manufacturing company history", the first hit will give yo more information than I know about the company.  I will attach below the instructions for aligning the chime hammers.  You did say chime, but it might be that the clock is a striking clock, as all I can see in the dim photo are two winding arbors, which would be for time and strike.  Chiming clocks have three winding arbors with the exception of a few models that use two winding arbors with a complicated mechanism that switches itself form chime to strike.  As far as not watching it operate, I take it you mean that you will wind the clock and start the pendulum.  Is there any information on the back plate of the movement?  If you could give me all the information found on the back plate of the movement, I could tell you a little more about it.  If you start it and it doesn't run correctly, tell me what it is doing and then maybe we can tell what is wrong.  I will also include below some information on a clock not running.



CHIME HAMMER ALIGNMENT

First, the chime sound board and chime block screws should be very tight.  
Any looseness will cause diminished sound and quality.  For the preliminary
set up, each chime hammer should be aligned with its respective chime rod.  
The center of the hammer head should be in line with its rod and parallel
to the line of travel.  Another way to look at it is that it should not be
angled off to one side.  At rest, each hammer should be approximately
1/16" to 1/8" from the rod.  Pull the hammer back one hammer length and
release it. It should give a solid strike without double-striking or thudding.  
If it does this, the hammer wire needs to be formed back a little.  If the
volume is reduced too much, it needs to be reformed closer to the rod a little.  
Do this with every one of the chime hammers.  When you have completed this
sequence, test it by turning  the minute hand around the quarters letting it
chime on its own.  As the chimes will possibly lift differently than from when
done manually, they might need a little more find tuning.

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 surface where placed.  
The clock should be in beat 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.  Some clocks
have a slip adjustment for the pendulum assembly.  Or one side of the
clock can be shimmed up so the beat is even.  If the clock still doesn't
run, it could need servicing.

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.

I hope this helps a little.  Get back with on the above questions.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama  

John Newman

Expertise

As much as I would like to offer values of clocks, I am not a certified appraiser and will not venture into giving an unresearched guess. There is very little published information on what I consider to be the value of "modern production clocks". Considerations are what the clock originally sold for, the condition of the case and movement, and particularly the area in which you live, the demand and the economy. ALSO, WATCHES ARE NOT MY FIELD. However, I can advise the clock owner on proper maintenance of a clock to keep it running, small corrections and adjustments and how to move a clock without damaging it. I can also advise on obtaining parts for clocks. It helps if you can send any information on the clock movement which is usually found on the back plate of the movement. I have been a clockmaker for about 35 years and was plant engineer in the mid 90's and later operations and engineering consultant at Emperor Clock Company in Fairhope, Alabama. I now have my own clock shop.

Experience

One of my greatest accomplishments was traveling to China to assist a clock factory in building clocks to the standards which we required. With the proper specifications and quality control, some beautiful clock cases were built. The factory people from the wood carvers to the plant manager were very congenial, friendly and I left a lot of wonderful friends when I returned from my trips.

Organizations
Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee

Publications
Horological Times, a publication of the American Watch and Clockmakers Instute. Collaberated column author, with Photos and ideas for clock movement conversion article.

Education/Credentials
Associate of Science Mechanical Engineering Technology Emperor Introductory Clock Repair (Eventually taught a portion of the class after becoming employee)

Awards and Honors
Small Business of the Quarter (Prattville, Alabama) Leadership Class of 2009 (Autauga County, Alabama)

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.