Expert: Michael Radi - 3/29/2009

Question
I have a grandfather clock with a Hermle 451-050-94 movement but the chime does not work properly.  It DOES chime on the hour and quarter hour but the sequence of notes on each quarter is off by one, that is, it plays the second, third, fourth, and FIRST-of-the-next-sequence notes in each set of four notes for each quarter hour rather than the first, second, third, fourth notes.  Is there a fix for this problem or do I need a new chime train for the movement?  Thank you for taking the time to read my e-mail and for answering it.

Answer
This should not be a problem to correct. You will need to get to the back of the movement. There is a large gear on the back of the movement. It sits between the chime drive gear. The chime drive gear is attached to a shaft coming out of the movement. It drives the large gear I am talking about, the large gear drives the chime drum.
This large gear is held to the movement with a small clip.
The fist thing to do is to run the chime sequence until it plays the first quarter (four notes).
Remove the small "C" clip from the shaft holding on the large gear. This is the easier way to adjust the chimes but don't loose that clip. You can use a small screw driver or needle nose pliers to remove the clip, it slides out of a groove in the shaft.
After you remove the clip, pull that large gear off and advance the chime drum until it plays the four notes of the first quarter (highest note, straight down to lowest note. Put the gear back on and test to see that the second quarter is correct. Replace the clip and you are done.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Michael
www.norkro.com
clock parts online