ClockInfo.com

Daylight Saving Time in the USA officially ends Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 2:00 a.m. You will need to set your clocks back one hour. I recommend doing this before you go to bed on Saturday night (November 1st). The U.S. Department of Transportation also reminds Americans to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change the time on their clocks.

Some windup clocks can have the hands turned back, and some cannot. I will discuss some popular types of clocks below. For specialized types of clocks and clock systems, refer to the instructions manual, manufacturer or service center.

Hermle Clocks (such as the ones I sell at Bill’s Clockworks): You may turn the minute hand back one hour.

Cuckoo Clocks: stop the pendulum for one hour then restart it.

Grandfather Clocks: Modern grandfather clocks, made in the last 30 - 40 years, may have the minute hand turned back one hour. Antique grandfather clocks - stop the pendulum for one hour then restart it. The best way to stop the pendulum is to wait until it swings to the left. As it reaches its maximum swing, gently capture it with your hands, gently move it to the center and stop it, then let go. When starting the pendulum, move it to the right and release it.

Chelsea Ship’s Bell Clocks: Turn the minute hand ahead 11 hours, pausing every hour and half hour for the clock to strike.

Antique American wall, mantel and shelf clocks: Either stop the pendulum for one hour, or turn the minute hand forward 11 hours, pausing every hour and half hour for the clock to strike (some clocks strike just the hour, in which case just pause on each hour for the clock to strike). If the clock is time only (does not have strike or chime), you may turn the minute hand back one hour.

French Antique Clocks: stop the pendulum for one hour, then restart it. DO NOT TURN BACK THE HANDS.

There are so many types of clocks that I cannot cover them all here. Many Seth Thomas mantel clocks have an instruction sheet inside the back door. Most quarter hour chime clocks have instructions, they should tell you if it safe to turn the minute hand back or not.

If you don’t know whether it is safe to turn the minute hand back, you may turn it forward 11 hours, pausing for the clock to chime or strike at the appropriate times (hour, half hour or quarter hour, whenever the clock should strike or chime).

Vintage Electric Alarm Clocks: unplug the clock for one hour or set the minute hand back one hour, don’t go back past the time at which the alarm is set to ring.

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: NEVER TURN THE HANDS BACK. Consult a specialist before setting a chronometer. It is best to not set the hands, just record the chronometer’s error each day.

Daylight Saving Time in the USA officially starts Sunday March 9, 2008 at 2:00 a.m. You will need to set your clocks forward one hour. I recommend doing this before you go to bed on Saturday night (March 8th).

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.

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.

Lately several people told me me that their 400 day anniversary clock was “wound too tight”, and that they tried to fix it by unwinding the spring! Trying to unwind the spring is DANGEROUS (unless you are experienced at clock repair and have the proper let-down key). If you try to unwind the spring, YOU MAY INJURE YOUR HAND OR FINGERS, and damage the clock as well. Don’t try it! Also, merely unwinding the spring will NOT fix the clock’s problems.

When a clock that is wound up all the way will not work, it needs to be repaired. The repair needed can range from a simple adjustment such as putting the clock in beat; up to an overhaul, in which the movement needs to be taken completely apart, cleaned, pivots polished, and any other repair work carried out. 400 day anniversary clocks seldom need to have bushings installed, but quite often, Schatz clocks from the 1950’s need a few pivots polished.

I offer repair service for Kundo and Schatz 400 day clocks and Schatz 1000 day clocks.

I had an Ansonia iron case mantel clock for sale in my shop. It ran, but needed to be overhauled, which I planned to do when someone bought it. A man who tinkered with clocks came in and bought it it as-is, wanting to repair it himself. It was a Friday afternoon.

Monday morning he came in with the clock and said there was a problem with it. I looked at the movement and barely recognized it! All the steel parts were badly rusted. I asked him what had happened to it, and he said he dunked the movement into what he thought was an ammonia solution. As the movement entered the fluid, it started fizzing and bubbling, and he thought “Boy, this is cleaning well!” After the “cleaning” and rinsing, he realized that he had used bleach!

The movement was completely ruined (all pivots, pinions and other steel parts were badly rusted and pitted).

Note: an ammonia solution is not good to use on an assembled movement. The movement must be disassembled so that it can be properly rinsed and dried after cleaning. Also, do not use an ammonia solution to clean mainsprings

A customer brought me a beautiful E. N. Welch walnut kitchen clock he had just purchased at an auction. It had a fantastic original painted dial, a great looking nickel plated bezel, and a pretty case that just needed cleaning. I examined the movement and said that it needed to be overhauled because one of the clicks in the winding mechanism was very loose and needed a new rivet installed. If the click had been left as is, it could come off, letting the winding key spin backwards, possibly damaging the customer’s hand. I quoted my usual price of the time (late 1990’s), $175 - $275 with a two year warranty. The customer didn’t want to pay that much, so he took the clock and left.

A month later, he returned with the clock. He had complained to the auctioneer about the clock not working, so the auctioneer sent him to “X” who would fix it for $35.

It didn’t look like the same clock. The beautiful, original painted dial had been replaced with a new paper dial, the nice nickeled bezel had been polished so much that the brass was showing through, the clock didn’t run well, and the click was still loose. The movement apparently had been “cleaned” but no repair had been done. I quoted the same repair price as before, and the customer said he would think about it.

Seeing repair work like this makes me sad. A beautiful clock in nice original condition, that would have looked fantastic with a little TLC to the case, became just another old clock, although it still had a pretty case.

A pendulum clock is out of beat when the ticking does not sound even (or more precisely, when the left tick and the right tick do not occur at the same angle of the pendulum from its point of rest). A clock that is slightly out of beat may run; if the beat error is severe, the clock will be unreliable or may not run for more than a few seconds.

Note: You can put a clock in beat by tilting it to the left or right until the ticking sounds even. If it looks too much off level to suit you, follow the instructions below.

These directions apply to American antique clocks of the “Connecticut” type such as Sessions, Ingraham, Gilbert, Seth Thomas, Waterbury, New Haven, etc., having an easy to bend crutch made of brass wire. The same principle applies to other clocks, but on some clocks the crutch is wide and hard to bend, on French clocks the escapement is delicate and you must be very careful, many modern clocks have a slip clutch for beat adjustment, some modern clocks (especially grandfather clocks) have automatic beat setting, and many precision clocks such as Vienna regulators (and some grandfather clocks) have a beat setting screw near the TOP of the pendulum.

Wall Clock: Clock should be leveled and fastened to wall at both top and bottom so it stays in place. Remove the hands and dial.

Shelf or Mantel Clock with pendulum in front: Place the clock on a level surface and remove the hands and dial.

Mantel Clock with rear pendulum: Place the clock on a level surface with the back facing you, and open the back door.

Refer to the View A and View B in the illustration above and follow the steps below to put the clock in beat.

1. Move pendulum to the left or right until the escape wheel escapes from one pallet to the other. Release pendulum and see if clock keeps running for several seconds.
2. Stop pendulum, and move it in the other direction until escape wheel escapes. Release pendulum and see if clock keeps running for several seconds.
3. If the clock keeps running when started from both the left and right sides (or nearly so) clock is in beat.
4. If the clock keeps running only when started from the left, slightly bend the verge wire to the right, as shown by the arrow in view A. To bend the verge wire, grasp it in needle nose pliers (or your fingers) about 1/3 of the way down from the verge, and bend the free end slightly with your fingers.
5. If the clock keeps running only when started from the right, slightly bend the verge wire to the left, as shown by the arrow in view B. To bend the verge wire, grasp it in needle nose pliers (or your fingers) about 1/3 of the way down from the verge, and bend the free end slightly with your fingers.

Repeat steps 1) through 5) until the ticking sounds even. You can make the most precise beat determination when the pendulum is taking the minimum possible swing that will make the clock tick on both the left and right pendulum swing. A larger swing may mask beat errors.

Note: it is better to use a wire bender (a small metal rod with a slot in it) instead of pliers, but the pliers will suffice if you are careful.

Troubleshooting: Make sure the pendulum rod is not touching the front or back of the crutch loop - bend the crutch wire if necessary. Make sure the sides of the crutch loop are parallel and that there is slight clearance between the pendulum rod and the sides of the crutch loop.

When I was a youngster I experimented and learned how to put a clock in beat, and can do it almost without thinking. In the instructions above, I have tried to put my procedure into words and drawings suitable for the clock owner with some mechanical know-how. Please feel free to make a comment on how to make the instructions more clear!

• Do not use screw-in or screw-on bushings. A clock must be taken apart to properly install bushings in worn pivot holes.
• Do not routinely replace mainsprings. A new mainspring can be as likely to break as the old, original one. If the original mainspring has been operating well for 100 years, it is likely to continue operating well, as long as it has no obvious cracks or other damage, and is strong enough. For a delicate clock (such as French) a new mainspring may be necessary occasionally. For the American 8 day open spring clock, which is typically over-powered, the original spring is undoubtedly strong enough, and may be too strong!
• Do not install a .018 inch thick mainspring in an American open spring 8 day clock. Thinner springs such as .0165 inches thick should usually be used. See the American Clock Mainsprings section for more information.

400 day clocks have a very thin flat wire (about 2 - 4 thousands of an inch thick), called the suspension spring or suspension wire, that the pendulum hangs from. You must be gentle with these clocks to avoid damaging the suspension spring.

This web page has some original 400 day clock instruction sheets:

400 Day clock instruction sheets

Before starting the clock, put it where it is to be located. Then unlock the pendulum (for Schatz miniature clocks and many Kundo clocks) or hang the pendulum on the pin at the lower end of the suspension spring. Level the clock so that the point on the bottom of the pendulum is near the center of the cup in the base. Some clocks have leveling feet that you can rotate, on those that don’t you can use paper or cardboard shims under the edge of the base.

Gently rotate the pendulum 1/2 turn and release it. During operation, the pendulum makes a slow motion of about one turn, first rotating one way, then the other, every 6 to 8 seconds. NEVER SPIN THE PENDULUM!

Earlier this year, a customer received a clock from me after repair, and it was working perfectly. Three days later, it stopped, and we could not figure out why. So he sent the clock back to me, and I found that the suspension spring, which should be flat, had over 100 twists in it! My customer was puzzled, but did some checking, and found that his cleaning lady’s grandson had spun the pendulum around rapidly! I replaced the suspension spring and the clock was as good as new.