Category Archives: Clock repair

notes from 23 years of professional clock repair

How does the weight of a pendulum influence timekeeping?

WHAT ABOUT THE IDEA THAT THE WEIGHT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PERIOD OF A PENDULUM?  Well you can believe what you want. And if you are a physics major you may say that this is true. In theory … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on How does the weight of a pendulum influence timekeeping?

SYMPATHETIC VIBRATION: 

This is a phenomena that sounds unbelievable at best, but it does exist and is a common cause of many clocks stopping. Sympathetic vibration can be described as the transfer of energy from one object moving with a steady frequency … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on SYMPATHETIC VIBRATION: 

WHAT WILL CAUSE TIMEKEEPING PROBLEMS:

There are a number of things that will cause timekeeping problems. Some are true generally speaking and some are specific to certain clocks. The following is a list of the generally speaking problems: a “set” mainspring improperly lubed mainspring damaged … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on WHAT WILL CAUSE TIMEKEEPING PROBLEMS:

WHAT WILL CAUSE A CLOCK TO STOP ?

You may have to check all of these if you have problems after moving a clock. It doesn’t take much to stop a clock. The most common problem is failure to wind the mainsprings up all the way! This is … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on WHAT WILL CAUSE A CLOCK TO STOP ?

PUTTING A CLOCK IN BEAT

All clocks must have maximum power transfer to the pendulum or they will not run dependably. This means they must be in beat. What does this mean? Some call this “setting the balance”. Try to imagine the pendulum and verge … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on PUTTING A CLOCK IN BEAT

Suspension Repair

Clock Repair Archive – – To put a hole in a suspension spring: use a sharp punch with an aluminum block on the bottom of the spring. Strike the suspension spring using the punch and a small hammer. The punch … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on Suspension Repair

Seth Thomas 124 (repair hints)

Clock Repair Archive – –      Regulation on the Seth Thomas 124:turn the regulator to the left for slower and turn the regulator to the right to make the clock run faster. 1 turn = 2 1/2 minutes per … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on Seth Thomas 124 (repair hints)

Seth Thomas Sonora chime (repair hints)

Clock Repair Archive – – The sonora chime by Seth Thomas that has dual chimes (whittington and westminster ) has 2 small dials about 1 inch in diameter on the top of the face. One of them is for the … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on Seth Thomas Sonora chime (repair hints)

Seth Thomas A-200 (repair hints)

Clock Repair Archive – –    The seth thomas a-200 movement strike mainspring is .018in strong by .682in wide ; and the time mainspring is .014 in strong by . 682 in wide and both 96 inches long. This is … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on Seth Thomas A-200 (repair hints)

Seth Thomas 115d (repair hints)

Clock Repair Archive – –      The Seth Thomas 115d is a ships strike round mechanism. It uses a non – imported balance wheel unit. It uses a cam on the idler gear connected to the minute wheel to … Continue reading

Posted in Clock repair | Comments Off on Seth Thomas 115d (repair hints)