Expert: Martin Meyer - 5/22/2009

Question
Good evening Mr. Meyer,

I recently "fixed" an old mantle clock by the E. Ingraham Co. by lubricating it with Kroil and starting the pendulum. Much to our delight after being in my wife's family for 40+ years it runs, chimes and we love it!  However, it run very fast, moving ahead approximately 5+- minutes in a day. I've moved the "speed" wheel I believe to slow it down but it has not worked. I say believe because I haven't taken the mechanism out of the clock to actually look at it. It seems like the wheel isn't engaged somehow?  When I lubed the clock I did notice that the pendulum seems to be "added"? It's a rather heavy piece and I'm wondering if it's not the right one.  Could you tell me what the weight of the pendulum should be or whether it actually matters? Also, would you be able to tell me how hard it is to remove the mechanism to see if the speed wheel is working? I'm afraid of damaging the hands on the clock.  Thank you in advance for you help.

Christian

Answer
Hi Christian,

If your clock has the pendulum on the back of the movement, you can observe the regulating mechanism without removing the movement. Look into the back of the clock at the movement. You will see a gear at the very top of the movement which engages another gear at right angles. Turn the regulating shaft on the dial while you watch these gears from the back. The vertical gear should turn, and should, in turn, make the horizontal gear turn. If these gears move when you turn the regulating key, the regulating mechanism is probably working.

If the pendulum is on the front plate of the movement, you will have to remove the movement to observe it. Remove the hands by pulling out the taper pin on the minute hand shaft, or removing the round nut if the clock has that instead of a taper pin. The minute hand will come off, and you can then pull the hour hand straight off. From there, you simply remove the screws inside the case that hold the movement in the clock. If your clock has a visible escapement on the dial and two-piece dial, the process is more complicated, and I do not recommend that you remove the movement yourself.

The weight of the pendulum does not directly affect the rate of the clock, and should not make a difference unless it is so heavy that it stops the clock.

By the way, Kroil is a penetrating oil, not a lubricating oil, and its qualities are exactly the opposite of what you need in a clock oil. Only clock oil should ever be used to lubricate clocks. If you did not apply a tiny drop of oil to each bearing hole, but instead sprayed the oil or oiled the gears, the problem will be even worse. This oil will provide lubrication for only a short period of time, and you will then need to have the clock cleaned to remove all the incorrect oil, then re-oiled with clock oil.  http://www.clockmasteronline.com