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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!

Related posts:

1. Things to check when repairing an antique American clock movement
2. Bushing American Antique Clocks
3. 400 Day Clock Setup

• 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.

Related posts:

1. Mainsprings for American 8 Day Clocks

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.

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On modern German clocks, such as Westminster chiming wall, mantel and grandfather clocks (by makers such as Hermle, Howard Miller, Bulova and Ridgeway), it is easy to correct the clock if it is striking the wrong hour after the hour chime. Suppose the clock strikes 6 times but the hour hand is pointing to 7 o’clock. Proceed as follows:

• Grasp the HOUR (short) hand near the center of the dial and move it to the correct hour (6 in this example). The hand is a friction fit on its shaft
• Using the MINUTE (long) hand, set the clock to the correct time. You may turn it backward or forward to the correct time, but if you go forward, be sure to pause each quarter hour for the clock to chime. If you move the hands backwards, the chime will re-synchronize within 2 hours.

Note: On older and antique clocks, do not move the minute hand backward past a point where the clock will strike or chime. There are many variations in clock movement design. If you have any doubts, only move the minute hand forward.

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