Expert: Michael Radi - 6/11/2009

Question
I want to buy a grandfather clock, but the seller says the hands are a little
loose. Is that a hard thing to repair and can I do it myself? She bought the
clock from Walmart and it is battery operated.

Answer
This could be very simple or difficult depending on the cause of the problem. The following information is pertaining to a battery operated quartz clock movement:
It could be that the hands are not properly attached to the movement. The hour hand usually presses on. The further you press it down the tighter it will be. Reach behind the minute hand with your thumbs and press down on the hub of the hand. It should tighten up.
Some movements also have a press on minute hand. In this case you would tighten it the same way.
Other movements use a small nut to hold the minute hand on. If this is the case make sure the nut is tight.
If none of these things tighten the hands then something is wrong with the movement. Sometimes the gears inside the clock go bad either from abuse or wear (usually abuse). If this is the case the only option is to replace the quartz clock movement.
We sell a variety of movements at the following page:
http://www.norkro.com/webpages/quartz2.htm
Michael