Expert: Martin Meyer - 8/23/2007

Question
I have obtained a tempus fugit grandfather clock that has been stored for a while. Previous owner assured me that it worked fine before he stored it.  It has 451-050 H  114 cm/60 Pearl face manufactured in Memphis TN.  When I got it, pendulum was off and wrapped along with weights.  I have installed pendulum and weights.  It's tick tock sounds good.  I can use chimes and strike by manually moving the lever at the '3'.  The weights are coming down.  Problem:  the hands won't move for the time.  I can manually move the hands and hear click when the chimes are suppose to work but they will not move on their own.  I have checked hands out and they seem to be in good shape.  Not touching the face or each other. I am not sure if moisture may have gotten in the clock while stored but it seems to smell musty.  Do you think oiling it would help and/or do I need a part for the hands?  I have always wanted a grandfather clock but this is driving me absolutely crazy.  I can not leave it alone. Please help me.  I have checked and the closest clock doctor is 2 hours away.

Answer
Hi Sandi,
    If the pendulum continues to swing but the hands don't move, the problem is in the clutch. This is a mechanism which allows you to move the hands to set the time and also transfers the motion of the gear train to the hands so that the hands move and keep time. Either the clutch is loose, or something is impeding the movement of the hands so the hands don't move but the pendulum keeps swinging because the clutch is slipping.
    First check the hands at the center where they attach to their shafts. If you hold your finger lightly on the hand nut which holds the minute hand, you should be able to move the center of the hour hand forwards and backwards just a little bit. In other words, there should be clearance between the minute hand center and the hour hand center. If the two seem jammed together, push the hour hand in a very small amount to restore this clearance.
    Next, set the clock to a time just after a chime point, that is, after you hear the "click", when the minute hand is just past the hour or quarter. See if the clock runs until it is at the next chime point (a minute or two before any quarter). If the hands stop at this point, they are being jammed by the chime mechanism. Correcting this will probably require the assistance of a professional clock repairer.
    Finally (this is the hard part) look inside the movement, either from the side openings or by removing the movement from the clock. The clutch mechanism should be as follows: the center shaft (the shaft that the minute hand is on) goes into the movement. Near the back plate of the movement the center shaft has a large gear on it. In front of this gear, you will see either a coil spring around the shaft or a three-pronged part that presses against the gear.  Either of these parts should be tight against the gear. When you turn the minute hand, you should feel tension, that is, it should not turn effortlessly or just fall down to the six o'clock position when you move it. If the hand moves without any tension, the clutch is either broken or has lost tension. Sometimes there is a hole in the center shaft with a pin through it. This pin holds the clutch spring or three-prong plate against the gear. Look to see if the pin is missing. If it is, you can often replace it with a taper pin (available from clock materials houses) or even a very fine small nail. Replacing it should require you to push the clutch part against the gear, then insert the pin to keep the tension on.
    I hope this description is clear and not too technical. This is a relatively difficult problem to correct, so I just can't simplify it very much.
    Thanks for your question.   Martin