On the vast majority of clocks, it is okay to set the hands forward one hour. When setting the hands, you should pause at each time the clock will strike or chime. On clocks where you set the hands directly (not having a time set knob), move the minute hand (long hand), and the hour hand will automatically follow.

Hermle Clocks (such as the ones I sell at Bill’s Clockworks): You may turn the minute hand ahead one hour, pausing each quarter hour for a chiming clock or each half hour for a striking clock.

Cuckoo Clocks: Move the minute hand ahead one hour, pausing at the hour and half hour for the clock to cuckoo.

Grandfather Clocks: Move the minute hand forward one hour, pausing at each quarter hour for the clock to chime.

Chelsea Ship’s Bell Clocks: Turn the minute hand ahead pausing at the hour and half hour for the clock to strike.

Antique American wall, mantel and shelf clocks: Move the minute hand forward one hour, pausing at the hour and half hour for the clock to strike.

French Antique Clocks: Move the minute hand forward one hour, pausing at the hour and half hour for the clock to strike.

400 Day Clocks: Move the minute hand forward one hour.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT FORCE THE MINUTE HAND. IF YOU FEEL AN OBSTRUCTION, STOP MOVING THE HAND.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT MOVE THE HOUR (SHORT) HAND – IT WILL MOVE BY ITSELF AS YOU MOVE THE MINUTE HAND.

DISCLAIMER: I AM PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION AS A FREE SERVICE. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PROBLEMS CAUSED BY FOLLOWING THESE DIRECTIONS.

Marine or Ship’s Chronometer: IT IS BEST TO LEAVE THE HANDS ALONE. Consult a specialist before setting a chronometer. It is best not to set the hands, just record the chronometer’s error each day.

I cleaned the movement, straightened the hand shaft and replaced the mainspring (the old mainspring had been cleaned in the past without removing it from the barrel and it had corrosion marks). Also, the suspension unit was not quite long enough.

Below are some pictures, there are more on my Picasa web album.

Here is a video:

Job 5108. Horolovar back plate no. 1379A.

I cleaned the movement, polished several pivots, replaced the suspension spring and mainspring, and polished and lacquered the case and pendulum (one of the photos below shows all the parts of the pendulum when it was apart for polishing). The base was so full of cracks that I replaced it with an identical old base that was in good condition.

Here is a video:

Job 5088, back plate no. 1014A.

I just received a Schatz 400 day anniversary clock that was made in April 1953. Someone pushed on the “click” (the device that clicks as you wind the mainspring). It unwound with a big bang, and damaged the barrel and broke one of the pivots (the small ends of the gear shafts. This added at least $70 to the repair bill!

In most cases, your clock did not stop because it was “wound too tight.” It stopped because it needs to be taken apart, cleaned, and other necessary repairs made.

DO NOT TRY TO UNWIND YOUR CLOCK! BEING “WOUND TOO TIGHT” IS NOT THE PROBLEM.

I cleaned the movement, polished several pivots, and replaced the mainspring and suspension spring.

Below are some photos, there are more in my Picasa Web Album.

Here is a video of the clock:

Horolovar back plate number 1010. Repair job 5066.

Why I Replaced the Mainspring

The original mainspring had rust and sticky green gunk on it. An earlier repairer soaking the entire mainspring barrel in cleaning fluid instead of removing the spring for cleaning probably caused this.

The left one has the type of pendulum used for many years (it has a slot in the top part of each pendulum arm). The right one has the later type of pendulum without slots in the arms (I wonder if it originally had the earlier type).

The left clock has the longer, earlier type of movement mounting nuts (visible beneath the platform). The right clock has the later type of short mounting nuts.

Kundo used 2 methods to mount the dial to the movement. Earlier dials have taper pins through posts. Later dials have rotating fasteners. The photos below show both types.

Here is a video of these clocks:

Repair jobs 5079 and 5100.

This example looks similar to that in the photo labeled “1924″ in Tran Duy Ly’s Seth Thomas clock book. The case is dark mahogany, 31 inches tall, 15 5/8 inches wide, and the dial has a 10 3/4 inch time track. The movement is 8-day time only, no. 123 E. I first overhauled this clock in 1999 (polished pivots and installed 5 bushings). It ran until 2009, when the click broke (an uncommon occurrence).

I cleaned the movement and did the following repairs:

• Installed a new click;
• Installed a new mainspring, as the old one had a squeaky action even after cleaning and oiling. I installed a Merritt’s P-1956 3/4 x 0.0165 x 96 inch mainspring (the new spring opened up to 5 1/4 inch diameter after being wound and unwound 5 times).
• The pivots, which I had polished during the last overhaul, were still in excellent condition.

This movement has stopworks for the mainspring, I set it up so that it stops the winding when the spring is one turn from being fully wound. The case has a beat plate, and the motion of the pendulum measured on the plate is as follows:

• Escape arc:  + and – 0.75 degrees
• Wound up: + and – 3.3 degrees
• Rundown 3 days: + and – 3.2 degrees
• Rundown 7 days: + and – 2.8 degrees

The paint on the dial was flaking badly, and the customer wanted it restored. I had it repainted by The Dial House in Dallas, Georgia.

Here is a slide show of the clock and its movement:

Repair job 1891.

This example has an 8-day time only movement driven by two mainsprings. The mainsprings are the original thick, roughly finished springs. They are in good condition and provide plenty of power to operate the clock. They are narrower than standard 8-day mainsprings, only 3/8 inch wide. They are quite thick, 0.022 inch.

The escapement is a club tooth deadbeat (or semi-deadbeat, as there is slight recoil during locking). The escapement was patented by B. B. Lewis on August 31, 1870, patent number 106,843.

The dial on this example was repainted by The Dial House, Dallas, Georgia. The second hand is a replacement.

Besides cleaning, the movement needed the following repairs:

• Tighten the click rivets;
• Polish pivots;
• Install 7 bushings;
• Replace one bent pinion wire in the second pinion;
• Replace the pinion wires in the escape wheel;
• Increase the hand set tension.

Here is a video of the escapement:

Here is a video of the case:

Here is a slide show of the clock and movement:

Repair job 5023.

Historical reference: NAWCC Bulletin Supplement Number 12, February 1978, “The Welch, Spring and Company”, by Owen H. Burt and Jo Burt.

Plymouth was a name that Seth Thomas put on some clocks ca. 1930 – 1950. If anyone has details of this, please let me know.

Our first example is labeled 89IM on the movement. This is a variation on the popular No. 89 movement having hour and half-hour strike, with two hammers that simultaneously strike on two chime rods. The date code is 37-11 which represents November, 1937. The label on the back door has the date 5/21/38 (May 21, 1938) hand written on it. This is probably the date the clock was sold.

Our second example has the later Seth Thomas time and strike movement that was introduced to save on cost. It is labeled 10-40 and 4503, which could be date codes for October 1940 or March, 1945. If anyone can help me interpret these numbers, please let me know! Similar movements have been seen with model number A-200 on them. The label says:

Guarantee and Directions
Covering Clocks Equipped With
4300, 4500 and 4600 Series 8-Day Pendulum
Strike Movements in Tambour Cases

Both cases are 20 inches wide and 9 1/4 inches tall, with bezels measuring approximately 6 1/4 inches outside diameter. Both have “fake inlay” printed on the case front. Both  have aluminum dials. The older dial has embossed numerals, but the numerals on the newer dial are printed only. Both clocks have instruction labels inside the back doors and are illustrated below.

Movement Summary

• The No. 89 movement was introduced about 1900, and was made in many variations.
• It was replaced in the late 1930s or the early 1940s with the second movement shown above. This has smaller plates and gears and was probably a cost reduction. It is not as good, as it seems to need quite strong mainsprings to run well.
• In 1955, a flood badly damaged the Seth Thomas factory. They phased out movement manufacturing and began importing many movements from Germany. They used many Hermle movements.

Sometimes the movement may rotate in the case even with the screws securely tightened. This can easily happen when winding the clock. If the movement rotates, the clock will be out of beat (not ticking evenly), and may stop or not run reliably.

One way to secure the movement is to cut 4 thin pieces of double-sided tape (such as carpet tape) and stick them to the edge of the dial pan (where the dial pan presses against the case). The movement must be taken out of the case to do this. Cut the tape to a curved, narrow shape that will not be visible when the movement is installed.

Here are two clocks I just did this to: