Expert: Martin Meyer - 12/23/2007

Question
An elderly couple friends of mine living in the Orlando florida area bought a grandfather wall clock made in Taiwan Japanese parts by Takake Verichron Quartz
Westminister chime...The movement works to tell time and chime on the hour, but the pendulum does not swing...There is a cylindrical tube that apparently holds two c batteries at the top of the mechanism unit in a horizontal angle in the back of the clock that has one end missing to make contact.  How do they get that part, or do they have to take it to a repair shop

Answer
Hi Ken,
    There are no repairable or replaceable parts in battery movements. If a battery contact is missing, you will need to replace the entire movement.
    There are many versions of this type movement, and manufacturers often use movements which you will not be able to obtain. But there are many replacement movements available, and you need only choose one which fits the space in the clock, and has the correct length hand shaft so that the hands don't hit the dial or stick out too far. In my opinion, the best of these is the Hermle 2214 movement. It has a slightly larger diameter handshaft nut, and you may need to slightly enlarge the hole in your clock's dial to make it fit. These movements are available from a clock supply house like Timesavers, Merritts Antiques or Empire Clock.