Expert: Michael Radi - 12/30/2010

Question
Mr. Radi,

I have a grandmother clock my grandfather built in 1986.  It has worked beautifully until recently I've noticed that there was a slight delay in the chiming during the hour movement.  Yesterday I noticed that the clock was no longer chiming at all.

When I took the back panel off one of the hammers was stuck in the pulled back position.  When I touched it I could hear springs moving and it chimed and went back in to position.  I watched the clock through a noon timing sequence and all went well.  However when it was time to chime 1 the clock made it through the 12:45 sequence and then stopped before the end of the "song" and hour chime.

Any thoughts on what may be the problem?  I don't believe there are any clock experts around here and the clock means so much to me.  I'd love it if you could help!

All the best and Happy New Year!

Carrie

Answer
The first thing to do is lubricate the clock movement. There is a lot of information on the Internet that can help you learn more about this. Her is a link to my video on clock oiling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9YrBcKiHA4
Let me know if you need more help
Michael