Expert: Kenneth Saunders - 2/22/2009

Question
Hi! I have Ansonia 2 train c. 1890's. Keeps excellent time, but now and then only rings one chime on the hour, leaving the rest for the next hour, thus ringing one too few from then on. Have been running with the dial off to catch it doing it, seems to go through correct sequence but after the hook has moved on silently from the deep notch correctly, sitting and rising in the first shallow notch  correctly, returning down to the first shallow notch correctly then ringing, it moves on one shallow notch and stays (instead of progressing to the next deep notch, chiming each shallow notch on its way)Can you help? Many thanks in advance.

Answer
the wheel with the notches is called the "count wheel" and that is the name of the striking system used as opposed to a "rack striking" system that all modern clocks use and some 1890 clocks used but it tended to be a more costly system.

assuming it is not stalling because of needing the left spring to be wound up fully or properly then it is an adjustment internally that is needed.

Watch what actually stops the striking when the lever reaches a deep shut-off notch on the count wheel( it is not the lever- but another wire arm attached to the same shaft as the lever on the count wheel) There needs to be a bit more clearance (probably) between the pin on the side of a wheel (probably the gear drivng the "fly" governor at the top of the train)and the hook on the end of the wire that catches the pin when the count wheel shuts off properly.


Minor adjustment in the wires that trip and stop the count wheel are needed to insure a "positive" shut off action.
 1) the L shaped lever must be hitting the shut off slot squarely to allow the locking wire to positively stop the strike.
 2 the locking lever is internal in the mechanism but affixed to the same shaft as the L shaped wire is. Tricky but minor adjustment in the relationship between these two wires is need to make the shutoff positive

Bending the arm of the L shaped lever  that rides the notches in the count wheel VERY slightly closer to the wheel should fix it. Too much bend and you cause other problems and the lever must slide into the deep shut-off notch easily. see attached