And the rhythm goes on

So, you bought a watch, it worked when you saw it (or you were assured it did if you bought it over the internet)

You bring it home, or have it shipped, put it in your house – – – and it won’t work.

99% of the time this is because the clock is not “on beat”. All mechanical watches must be set to rhythm before they will work properly.

Sometimes they run for a while and then stop, this can be even more annoying than not working at all!

I am talking about clocks with a pendulum here, clocks with an escapement platform are outside the scope of this article and need professional attention.

If you’ve bought or moved a grandfather clock, wall clock or mantel clock and it just doesn’t work, even though it worked pretty well before you moved it, here’s what to do:-

First, make sure your clock is vertical on the floor or wall, or level horizontally if it’s a mantel or mantel clock.

A grandfather clock should be placed on a firm, level surface; if you have a shag rug, lay it on a board. It must also be secure against the wall. Most vintage clock backs have a few holes, where the previous owners screwed them into the wall to fix them in position. You can do this or, if you have a floor-level baseboard, put a piece of wood between the back of the clock and the wall to fill the space. This can be screwed to the back of the clock or glued on.

You should end up with a watch that feels firm without any jerking or wobbling if you push it gently with your hand.

A good wall clock, especially the high-quality “Vienna” type, has a sturdy metal hanger bracket securely screwed to the top of the clock case at the back, and very often two small screws, one at a time. each side at the bottom of the box. . Drill and tap the wall, and drive a STRONG screw to hang the clock – – – nails, flimsy picture hooks, etc. they are not strong enough to hold a big and heavy wall clock for a long time – – – you wouldn’t believe what a mess your clock will be in for if the hanger comes off or breaks. Let’s just say you’re probably looking for another watch on the market!

Screw in the bottom screws until they start to dig into the wall, then we can move on to the next part, putting the clock “in rhythm.”

The following applies to all pendulum clocks, with the exception of some expensive ones that have adjustment screws on either side of the “crutch” on the back of the movement.

When the clock has locked into position, put the pendulum into motion and give it a smooth swing. If the clock runs smoothly, with a nice even beat – – – – – you are probably the kind of person who wins jackpots, lotteries, etc. – – – – I’ve never had one that didn’t have to be adjusted!

Most likely, the clock works, but sounds as if it is “limping” with an irregular sound. We are going to use both eye and ear to get it into rhythm, listen first, when set up correctly the pendulum should swing from left to right making “tick” at one end of its swing and “tock” at the other.

A clock ticking to the beat says: – tick – – – – tock – – – – tick – – – – tock, with all four dashes representing exactly the same amount of time.

Out of beat, it goes: – tic – – tac – – – – – – – – tic – – tac – – – – – – – – tic – – tac This is easier to hear than to describe, the two sounds come very

close together, then a longer gap before two more close together.

You can also watch the pendulum as it swings, the tick should sound at one end of the pendulum’s swing and the tock at the other end, just as the pendulum stops to swing the other way. Looking and listening, you will hear the tick (or tock) and then the pendulum will continue in the same direction until it stops and goes the other way, and the tick at the other end of the swing will be quieter, until finally it stops working. . .

There are two ways to correct this, the easy way is to tilt the entire watch to one side, if the watch stops, tilt it to the other side, and you’ll reach a point where you’ll suddenly hear the beat even in a nice even sound. . If you’ve only moved the clock a small amount, you can leave it there, by placing some packing under the base of the clock on the raised side of the floor. The problem is, of course, that if you’ve moved it so much that it looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you’ll probably want to try something else!

The correct way to set the clock is this – – – – (you will only have to do this once so stick with me) you need to bend the crutch very slightly.

The crutch is the wire part attached to the watch at the back of the movement, usually bent at a right angle at the bottom, with a rectangular hole for the pendulum rod to slide through. If you touch it you will see that it can move from side to side through an arc. Very often this cable is already slightly bent (don’t worry about the shape, it’s not visible on the back of the movement), when the clock is ticking it is the crutch that swings the pendulum, giving it a little push in each oscillation. Many people think that the pendulum moves the clock; of course it is the other way around. The pendulum is there to “regulate” the clock and allow it to keep time, instead of running at high speed until it runs out and stops.

Looking straight ahead, with the pendulum hanging stationary, move it to the side with your hand, until you hear a tick. Then move it to the other side until you hear a click. If you have to move more to the right (from center) than to the left, the crutch should be bent to the left. – – – – – -Or the other way around, of course.

The weights must be in the watch, or the springs must be wound if it is a spring-driven watch.

Also, be careful about flexing the crutch, don’t grab it and pull it everywhere, it may damage the escapement, anchor or escape wheel.

Reaching for the watch movement from the front with both hands, one on each side, place the index finger of one hand near the top of the crutch and the index finger of the other hand near the bottom of the crutch, where the pendulum rod passes through it.

The bottom finger does the flex.- – – – And you only need a small amount. It’s better to have to do it a couple of times than to overdo it and have to start over the other way, this can go on for a long time if you keep bending the crutch too much each time.

Grandfather clocks are the easiest to set, there is more space to put your hands in, smaller clocks need delicate handling and a lot of care not to break any delicate parts. Most people will achieve a good result with care and patience, if you don’t understand some or all of this I recommend you find a competent repairman to do it for you, I don’t want to encourage you to break your watch!

One final point, the length of the pendulum controls the speed of the clock, more precisely the distance between the center of the “bob” pendulum and the top of the bar. If your watch is going too fast or “wins,” you can drop the bob slightly by turning the adjusting nut below it clockwise a bit, or turn it counterclockwise to move it toward up a fraction, and thus speed up the clock slightly. Let it run for a few days and then adjust it if necessary. Eventually, you’ll be amazed at how good some of these adorable vintage clocks can be in timekeeping.

Andrew.

http://www.clockmakersandrepairs.co.uk