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Clocks, Watches/Seth Thomas A401-003 West. Chime Clock

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Expert: - 6/3/2010


Question
John, My clock seems to run faster after it has been freshly wound...in fact picks up about 10 minutes total (three minutes /hr)in the first three or four hours after a complete winding (an eight day clock I believe). The clock apparently sat a long time without running/being wound. Is it likely the clock will "settle down" as it is being wound/used regularly? Does it need a thorough cleaning/lubrication? I do not always wind the chime/strike (the noise sometimes bothers me). Could that have any bearing on the clock's time functioning? Thanks.

Answer
Hi,Ed.  The A401-003 was made for Seth Thomas by Hermle and is their model 340-020.  It is an 8-day movement which should be wound once a week.  The regulator can be a floating balance with a vertical spiral spring,  or the later versions used a balance wheel with a horizontal hairspring.  I would think that yours is probably a floating balance.  There are various reasons for it to pick up speed when first wound, and without testing it I cannot tell what would be the cause.  And sometimes these errors are elusive.  I have seen these models which someone has replaced the mainspring with an incorrect stronger one. This caused what we call overbank and the balance wheel hits the limit stops, causing the wheel to bounce back faster, thus speeding up the clock. As the mainspring winds down, the regulator will settle and run the proper rate.  It could be that the clock (and regulator separately in a special solution) needs cleaning and lubricating.  I would suggest having an experienced clockmaker look at it.  I cannot suggest anything for you to do to the clock other than not winding it fully.  The 340 requires approximately 6-1/2 turns from fully wound down to a full wind.  That is for 8 days running if the clock is in good running condition.  So I would try about 5-1/2 turns and see what it does.  Now, remember that you would be winding it every 7 days, so it would not be fully wound down in 7 days, so you would have to compensate for this shorter time.  That is something with with you will have to experiment.  Again, if the clock is not in good running condition with good lubricant and no worn parts, it might not run the full eight days anyway.  That changes everything, but try it.  Good luck and let me know how it goes.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama

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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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