Expert: William J Perkins - 10/11/2010

Question
I have an antique grandfather clock. It has two weights, one for time and the other for chimes on the hour and half hour. It keeps perfect time, but I can't seem to get the chiming mechanism to work. The chime rods are free and if I manually move them they appear to work, but it does not chime on it's own. There is a lever on the right side looking out that move and it appears to be the silence mechanism and I have moved it both ways. Is there a trick or secret to setting the chimes to work. The clock is old, I belive it is a 31 day mechanism works.

Answer
Try adding some additional weight to the strike side.  You can do this by simply pulling down on the weight while you turn the minute hand to a strike position.  If that makes it work, the clock needs cleaning.  If it does not work I would suspect something has gone awry with the silencing feature.  You might have to gain access to the clocks front plate, (remove the dial), to make that determination.  If I knew what kind of movement is involved I would be able to serve you much better.  If you can shed some light on that, please share the knowledge with me.  Perhaps, then, I could approach the problem properly.  Regards WJP