Expert: John Newman - 8/9/2009

Question
Hi John,
I built an Emperor narrow waisted cherry 350-K case clock with a 301-M movement in 1983 when I lived in California. It is an heirloom quality piece of furniture but the sound of the chime has always disappointed me. It has never sounded as nice as other grandfather clocks, both the quarter hour chimes and the main hour chimes. A piano playing friend who recently visited said it seemed slightly off key. I note that there are brass screw slots at the top of each chime rod and thought that they may be for adjustment. I cannot budge any of them without removing the chime block as they are very tight. Can the chimes be individually tuned by moving this screw thus effectively changing the length of the rod? I am prepared to contract a piano tuner to do the job if this will fix the problem. Alternatively I could possibly just buy another chime block if the lengths can only be tuned at the factory. Regards from Down Under, Brian Adelaide South Australia.

Answer
Brian, it's good that you couoldn't turn the brass screw-in plugs.  These secure the rods very tightly and have nothing to do with the tuning.  Generally, all clock chimes differ in sound due to the way the chime rod assemblies are mounted and the variations of wood from clock to clock.  Your chime rods could be okay.  I don't know just how much off key they would be, as they are factory tuned and I haven't hear of them changing with age.  I do tune assemblies when I have to replace a broken rod, and it is a rather time consuming procedure.  If you do order a new one, the dimensions would have to be close to the original.  Replacement units do sometimes have slightly different mounting hole patterns.  Before you try replacing, it could be that the hammers are not adjusted correctly.  Each hammer should be aligned so it hits the chime rod squarely and at rest should be in the vicinity of 1/16" to 1/8" from the rod.  Pull the hammer back on hammer length and release it.  It should not double-strike or thud.  If it does, the hammer wire should be formed back so the hammer sounds better with good volume.  It takes a few attempts to obtain a good sound for each hammer.  When you have completed this procedure, let the clock chime on its own and you might have to fine tune some of the hammers again.  Good luck and I hope this helps a little.  If you need a clockmaker to look at it and don't know of one, we do have some memebers of our Internet Clocksmiths Group in Australia and I would be glad to give you their contact information, as there might be one near you.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama