Expert: Martin Meyer - 4/16/2009

Question
Hi Martin -- I've inhereted a lovely Ridgeway Regulator wall clock. Wonderful time piece -- problem is the chimes are driving us nuts. I can't find the chime shut-off anywhere in the mechanism. I've resorted to putting a piece of tape on the mechanism itself, but I'm not sure if it's hurting the clock. By the way, this is a wind-up clock (which gives you an idea of its age). Thanks.

Answer
Hi Amy,

Not all clocks have a chime shutoff. If yours does, the likely places for it are: 1)a lever protruding through a slot in the dial at the 3:00 (or possibly 9:00 or 12:00) position; 2)a brass rod hanging down from behind the dial, which you push up or down to shut off the chime; or 3)an L-shaped bracket mounted on the back plate of the movement, which can be rotated up to raise the chime hammers away from the chime rods. If you don't find any of these, your clock probably does not have a shutoff.

Putting tape on the delicate mechanism is probably not a great idea, but may get you by as a last resort. Occasionally the chime may be stopped in mid-strike, and this may stop the clock. Also, if you put the tape on the fly (fan) the danger will be when you remove it. The pivots (tips of the gears that turn in the bearings) are very small on the fly, and pulling tape forcefully off could break them, leaving you with an expensive repair situation.  http://www.clockmasteronline.com