Expert: Michael Radi - 8/19/2009

Question
I inherited a Colonial Manufacturing (Zeeland, MI) Grandmother clock from my Grandmother. It is Movement #122 and Case #1435.
I put the hands on and the clock is running, but not keeping very good time. It also is not chiming. I would like to find out more about the clock, company and also if I need to have a professional perform some maintenance, or if there is something I can do myself. The hands had fallend off when it was shipped to my house. I manually put them back on. Any information is helpful.
I'm located in the Chicago area if you can recommend a local repair shop.
Thanks,
Ted

Answer
Ted, I don't know anyone in your area I can recommend. However, your clock can be serviced by any experienced clock repair person. The movements were made in Germany and are of good quality. I can help walk you through some basic things you can do.
Timekeeping: this is adjusted by raising or lowering the pendulum bob. If the clock runs too slow, turn the nut under the pendulum bob to raise the bob. IF it runs too fast, turn the nut to lower the bob. The thread is a right handed cut and you will be able to see the bob move when you give the nut a couple of turns.
Chiming: Be sure the heaviest weight is on the right side as you face the clock. This is the chime side and it takes more weight to run than the others.
The next thing to do is oiling the movement. There are lots of threads on this site that can tell you how to oil it. If you can't find them I can point you to them.
Let me know if you need more help.
Michael