Expert: Martin Meyer - 8/12/2007

Question
Hi Martin, hope you can help me. I have a grandmother clock, approximately 30 years old. It has a West German movement and reads Tempus Fugit on the face. It was working perfectly, but then allowed to run down for a couple of years. It tells the correct time and the chimes strike correctly on the quarter hours but the hour chime  is 5 hours out, ie at 6 it strikes 11 times. Is there a way to adjust this. I have tried running the clock down and restarting it but to no avail.
               Cheers Chris

Answer
Hi Chris,
    If the chime strikes the wrong number of times, you correct it as follows: turn it to strike on the hour. Count the number of times it strikes and move the HOUR HAND ONLY to point to the correct number. the minute hand will Not move. The hour hand (unlike the minute hand) is a friction fit and can be moved forward or backward without affecting the minute hand or the strike mechanism. Occasionally on old clocks, there is some corrosion between the hour hand and and its shaft, so move it gently so as not to break it. Once you have synchronized the strike in this way, you can set the time the normal way by turning the minute hand forward, stopping to let it strike at each strike point.
    Thanks for your question.   Martin