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Clocks, Watches/centurion 35 day wall clock

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Expert: - 8/26/2009


Question
My, fiance was given his grandparents 35 day centurion and he cant get it to keep running.The arm deosnt swing back and forth, it deosnt keep time.We wound it up and set it when we first got it and at first it seem to move,tick,and chime fine for aprox. 20min.then stopped all together.Any ideas on how to fix or what is causing the problem in the first place?I am writing because my fiance would never take the time, or it would hang on the wall forever before fixing. Its a beautiful clock and I'd like to suprise him by trying to fix it without hopefully costing a fortune by taking it to someone trust worthy of not damaging it. I'm quit the little miss fix it but some guidance and knowledge would be great. So. I guess main question is why won't it keep time,that swinging thing,swing and or chime? Have A Great Day and THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer
Hope, it could be that the clock is out of beat.  If it is in beat it would go tick....tock....tick....tock.  If if is out of beat it would go tick..tock......tick..tock.  The Asian clocks (which I am sure yours is) are not standard in the beat adjustment so I cannot tell you how to make the adjustment in the clock.  If it is not in beat you can move the bottom of the clock slightly to one side or the other to possibly get the even beat.  Then it might run.  Other than that, when these clocks start wearing to a point where they won't run reliably, the would have to be serviced, and new parts are not readily available for them.  Because of that, many clock shops will not take them in for repair, as the restoration costs are usually too much for the customer.  A lot of us now will convert the movement to a quality chiming quartz pendulum movement.  The chimes sound like the tubular chimes found on very expensive clocks.  And the clock looks like the original from the outside.  

I would also say that a person other than an experienced clockmaker should never attempt to repair (which most of the time requires disassembly) one of these clocks, as they have very powerful mainsprings that have to be let down to percent damage to the clock and personal injury. This really applies to any clocks that are powered by mainsprings.

Sorry I could not help you any further.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama
klokdok@juno.com

(Due to the number of Allexperts questions and
the workload I have at my clock shop, I regret
that I cannot answer emails on a timely basis
other than Allexperts follow ups.)

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John Newman

Expertise

As much as I would like to offer values of clocks, I am not a certified appraiser and will not venture into giving an unresearched guess. There is very little published information on what I consider to be the value of "modern production clocks". Considerations are what the clock originally sold for, the condition of the case and movement, and particularly the area in which you live, the demand and the economy. ALSO, WATCHES ARE NOT MY FIELD. However, I can advise the clock owner on proper maintenance of a clock to keep it running, small corrections and adjustments and how to move a clock without damaging it. I can also advise on obtaining parts for clocks. It helps if you can send any information on the clock movement which is usually found on the back plate of the movement. I have been a clockmaker for about 35 years and was plant engineer in the mid 90's and later operations and engineering consultant at Emperor Clock Company in Fairhope, Alabama. I now have my own clock shop.

Experience

One of my greatest accomplishments was traveling to China to assist a clock factory in building clocks to the standards which we required. With the proper specifications and quality control, some beautiful clock cases were built. The factory people from the wood carvers to the plant manager were very congenial, friendly and I left a lot of wonderful friends when I returned from my trips.

Organizations
Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee

Publications
Horological Times, a publication of the American Watch and Clockmakers Instute. Collaberated column author, with Photos and ideas for clock movement conversion article.

Education/Credentials
Associate of Science Mechanical Engineering Technology Emperor Introductory Clock Repair (Eventually taught a portion of the class after becoming employee)

Awards and Honors
Small Business of the Quarter (Prattville, Alabama) Leadership Class of 2009 (Autauga County, Alabama)

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