You are here:

Clocks, Watches/replacement movement for 31 day clock

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/2/2009


Question
A Linden 31 day wall clock wore a pivot hole so badly it allowed the click of the timespring to disengage from its ratchet. In the ensuing release of power several of the roller pinions and wheel teeth were "ground beyond repair".  Where might I find a replacement movement?  The winding arbors are 2 3/4" apart and the canon (hour)pipe is 1" above a line connecting the winding arbors.
  The case and dial are in excellent condition. The brass movement is stamped on the front right lower portion "Cuckoo Clock Manufacturing Co., Inc.  Made in Korea"


Answer
Jo, these Asian 31-day clocks have very powerful mainsprings and when they let go they can do some rather serious damage to the movement, case or inflict injury to your hands.  It is rather difficult to find an exact replacement for these movements, as the clocks were not always made to the same dimensional standards over the years.  There is a variation of pendulum length, winding arbor locations that do not line up with the holes in the dial and different mounting depths and hole locations, all which have to align perfectly.  I have found some replacement movements for these, but the quality is such that I do not order them anymore.  What I am doing with the cases is replacing the movements with a couple of types of quality quartz pendulum chiming types.  I modify the case to house the movements and it is difficult to tell they have been changed.  The two types are either the chime rod sound or the tubular cathedral sound.  They have a choices of two or more melodies, volume controls and a night off switch.  They run on standard "D" cells and last a couple of years without having to replace the batteries.  I have just taken some photos of the conversions on a couple of Asian clocks and If you will reply to my shop address below, I'll email the photos to you.  If you are a woodworker or handy with tools, you could probably do the conversion, but it does take a lot of detail.  Let me know.


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.)

Clocks, Watches

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

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)

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.