Expert: Michael Radi - 5/25/2010

Question
QUESTION: I have a grandfather clock with an Urgos 32319 movement. We moved a couple of days ago and the movers damaged the clock and movement. The shaft that goes through the clock face that the hands are attached to was bent to the extent that the clock would not stay running. I managed to straighten the shaft the best that I could by using a needle nose pliers and the clock nows keeps time again and does the four note Westminster progression on the quarter hour. But, the weight that is associated with the hour count (the left weight when facing the clock) has not descended down at all and as a result the hour count is silent.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

ANSWER: Phillip, I applaud your work in getting the hand shaft straightened out enough for the clock to even run. There are a lot of things that have to happed for the strike to work. Most of them are on the front of the movement or between the plates. Have you tried lifting the hammers away from the strike bars to see if the gears will start moving?
If you are willing to get to the front of the movement I'll help you more. The hands have to be removed and you either have to take the face off the front or remove the movement from behind.
Michael


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Michael, I'll be out of town until Wednesday now. Do you want me to remove the weights, tie the chains together, and then remove the hands and then the movement out of the case inorder for me to access the from of the movement? I will not be able to get it to run without the weights on...

ANSWER: In some clocks you can remove the face from the front and keep the movement inside the case with the weights and pendulum still on it.
Can you send me a photo of the front of the clock?
Michael

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again Michael. I sent you a picture of the front of the clock. Not sure if you got it..

At any rate, if I remove the movement from the clock body, is there a specific part on the front of the movement I should check to see if it got bent in the move, and is impinging the ability of the weight to drive the hour count?

Thank you..

Answer
I did not get a picture with your question. I'll try to describe the critical area for the strike. As you look at the front of the movement, the left side is the strike side. The gears for the strike run up from the chain gear to the fan at the top left. There are a few levers associated with this side as well. One lever has a tab that catches a pin on the wheel that drives the fan. When the movement gets ready to strike (near the end of the hour chime# the gears spin briefly and this lever catches the pin. When the clock finishes the hour chime the lever drops out of the way and lets the strike run. Be sure that this lever is not stopping the gears from turning.
On the front of the movement there is a rack that drops down onto a snail when the strike is getting ready to run #the snail is on the hand shaft). This rack has about 15 "v" shaped teeth. Each tooth represents an hour of strike. At one o'clock one tooth will drop down, the clock will strike one and the rack will be lifted by a cam and the strike will stop. At two o'clock two teeth will drop and so on.
Be sure that the chime is not in the middle of a cycle. Gently try to turn the gears on the strike side and see if they will move freely.
Let me know what you find.
Michael
www.norkro.com
clock parts and repair