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Clocks, Watches/How to keep a Hamilton wall clock running?

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Expert: - 6/4/2010


Question
We recently inherited a beautiful Hamilton wall clock which was stored in its original shipping container for 25 years and never used.  We followed the installation instructions, but the pendulum will only swing for few minutes and then slowly stop.  The clock does not chime either, although you can hear the mechanism "click" at the quarter, half and hour.  When we hung the clock, the left and center trains were already tightly wound; only the right needed winding after 25 years in a box!  Any suggestions? Thank you.

Answer
Normally, when you swing the pendulum you should hear a tick tock.  The tick tock should be even, like tick....tock....tick....tock.  If it goes, tick..tock......tick..tock, it is out of beat and will stop.  If you don't hear any tick tock, the lubricants could be gummed up enough to keep it from running.  On the chimes and strike, some clocks have a silence lever which you can switch from silent to chime.  The strike is dependent on the chime completing its hourly chime.  If there is no lever or it is in the chime position, the chime is not working, again because of gummy lubricant.  The two symptoms together indicate that the lubrication has aged in the 25 years in storage.  In this case, it would probably be best to have an experienced clockmaker look at it and do a complete cleaning and lubricating.  One main reason is that the mainsprings will have to be removed from their barrels and serviced.  That's about all I can think of.  GOod luck and I know you'll enjoy your clock when you get it running.

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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