The recent post about using a powerdriver to wind a clock has got me wondering...
I have a lovely old bracket clock which has been in my family for generations; made by g-grandfather, who was a (unsurpringly) a clockmaker.
It has an allegedly 8-day movement, and as a kid I can well recall my grandmother (the clockmaker's daughter) winding it religously every Sunday morning without fail - she reckoned it was very important that it was done at the same time every week, to the same degree of winding.
These days, despite a service, the clock unfortunately doesn't last the full week, so it's really hard to remember to wind it just before it stops, which it invariably does. I don't know why it no longer lasts as long, but also, each time I wind it I feel granny's ghost at my sholder ticking me off for my bad winding practice. TBH for both reasons it rarely runs now, which is a shame.
Does anyone know, was granny talking sense? Or is this just an old wife's tale?
Logic says that the once-a-week regime evens out the stresses on the spring evenly and, possibly, enhances longevity but doing it at exactly the same time is probably overkill!
However, as you are now finding, once you get out of the habit, you tend to forget it so granny's strict routine probably ensured that the clock was never neglected.
However, as to your real problem, I would expect a lot of wear has taken place over what is obviously a very large number of years, so bearings may not run so smoothly as they once did[1]. Perhaps it is just a simple matter of needing lubrication?
I have two suggestions.
The first is to consult a clockmaker - they still do exist (why not look for a news group dedicated to clockmaking?)
The second is to bite the bullet and start winding it twice a week - but take a leaf out of granny's book and make it a set routine![2] I'm sure that granny's ghost will be much happier that you've contrived to give her father's masterpiece a new lease of life!
It certainly seems a pity that this wonderful timepiece is no longer doing its job ...
This isn't related to the problem with your bracket clock but the question is very similar: why do grandfather clocks always stop on Thursdays? See if you can work that one out!
[1] My father in law gave my wife an 8-day clock that he'd bought (new) a few years previously because he no longer had room for it in his new flat. While they were packing up it got dropped and emitted a very loud sproiiiinnnng! I was left to sort it out when it arrived here ...
It was obviously a rather cheap movement and what had happened was that constant pressure from the mainspring against the first pinion in the drive train had worn the plain bearing at one end of the shaft into an elongated slot. The shock of the drop was sufficient to allow the shaft to pop out of the slot and there was mainspring everywhere!
I managed to reassemble the movement but it never ran for anything like a week - not surprising with that badly skewed shaft! (It is now fitted with a quartz movement!)
[2] Splitting the week into 3½ day blocks might not be convenient, so go for 4 & 3. Set two alarms on your mobile phone or PC to remind you - that's a luxury that granny never had!
My Great Great grandfather Henry Dunn was also a clockmaker and i have two of his Lantern Clocks. I have read on the Internet about winding fusee movements at the same time and by the same number of turns weekly so it's an old wife's tale that is being perpetuated, with good scientific grounds i don't know. neither of my clocks are in working condition regrettably.
Ah yes, as Dave Baker has pointed out, it could just be loss of spring tension, which the twice a week regime would resolve. My remark about longevity was aimed at the spring but I didn't follow it through.
If it was your great grandfather's it is quite likely the spring is tired. Also, if you have never had it cleaned it may be as simple as dried lubricant. If someone *has* tried to 'oil' it with something like WD40 that may have gummed up the works completely. If you have your ancestor's clock genes you might like to look up how to clean it and have a go yourself: if not, as other's have said, there are still clock repairers about - though no doubt at a price.
We have a 10 day wall clock about 100 years old which keeps near perfect time.
Last year it would stop after about 4 days, I think it was something to do with the chime mechanism jamming.
Anyway a quick squirt of WD40 and it has been going perfectly ever since, probably sacrilege to a clock maker.
Not just to a clockmaker! WD40 dries like glue: it is a miracle your clock is still working!
If you want to add some 'common' oil to your clock try diluting some 3 in one with dry cleaning fluid - that is basically what we once used to sell for oiling delicate mechanisms.
We have a 10 day wall clock about 100 years old which keeps near perfect time.
Last year it would stop after about 4 days, I think it was something to do with the chime mechanism jamming.
Anyway a quick squirt of WD40 and it has been going perfectly ever since, probably sacrilege to a clock maker.
I am not a clock repairer nor qualified restorer but I have taken several old clocks over the years and got them up and running again.
If the case is ok and not requiring work then I take the easiest options first, (like I done want to pay out money)
There are clockmaker cleaning fluids you can buy that really clean all the parts (you need to take the movement out) It is best done with one of those ultrasonic cleaner things (or take the movement to a clockmaker to do for you) They will no doubt tell you there is wear in the movement (ignore for now) When you have it clean get some clock oil (its not very expensive) and if you look closely at where the pivots are there is like a little hollow, the tiniest amount of oil you can manage from a pin goes in this little hollow (do not over fill) its not much more than a smear. I then smear some oil on the `cogs` Then put back in the case and set the pendulum going, you should get an even tick tock, not a tiiiiick tock. You can adjust the pendulum to obtain an even beat but for ease just put a piece of paper or card under one side to test it.
I suspect in your case the spring is tired but it could also be lack of lubrication or extreme wear, also does it keep good time, if running well fast then that would run the spring down quicker.
As I said I am not qualified just my persoanl experience.
Where on earth does this urban myth about WD40 come from?
It doesn't dry like glue at all, its very low in solids. Reccommended by Yale for locks. Mr Chudfords clock has been working perfectly for over a year - more than enough time for it to 'dry like glue'.
I've used it for years on locks, hinges, zips, tools - you name it - and never had a problem at all.
Maybe just common sense with a little bit of science. If the clock is wound at the same time every week for the same number of turns you can be relatively sure that it will never stop since (being an 8 day clock) it will always have a day in hand.
very similar: why do grandfather clocks always stop
IIRC this question was posed some years ago during one of the televised "Christmas Lectures to Young People" at the Royal Institution.
The reference to Thursday is probably apochryphal and, as I hinted, does not relate to spring driven clocks, so has no connection with the loss of tension in a spring. There are other causes though, which others have posted in response to the OP's problem which also have a bearing on the grandfather clock problem ...
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman" saying something like:
I remember my grandad saying to me that it was important not to over-wind his because it could break the spring, and also that it was best not to let it completely wind down because there was a danger of the spring detaching itself from the drum. Whether there's truth in the latter, I don't know (I do remember breaking a few clockwork movements as a kid when the unwound spring parted from the drum) but I suspect that was his reason for always winding it on the same day of the week (and the same time being just habit, so he didn't forget).
I seem to recall that the mainspring broke in the early 80s - I think it cost around 100 quid then to have it fixed. I bet it'd be several times that today :-) (It's in my hands these days - sentimental reasons more than anything. It's just a plain 'ol Smiths Enfield 8-day mantle clock with Westminster chimes, its only claim to fame being that it was only made during 1951 - later and earlier ones were different, so I suppose it'd appeal to a die-hard collector)
I think the springs do get tired over the years, and of course there will be more friction in the movement as it wears. Seek advice from a professional clock repairer about oiling it if you decide to do so - I've heard horror stories about people wrecking good clocks with the wrong sort of oil.
In the meantime, I'd just wind it on a shorter cycle (and take care not to overdo it). With mine if it was run down, I always took it gently for the first few turns, mindful of what I'd been told :-)
Mine's in storage overseas, but worked last time I tried it three years ago. I seem to remmeber it had a lovely sound in a big room, but even the ticking was irritatingly loud in a smaller spot.
Not long enough to cause major probems? I've always heard that WD40 contains stuff that gradually evaporates, leaving a residue behind which attracts dirt and debris. It's useful stuff for quick fixes (which is why it gets such good press), but not as a long-term solution. Maybe the 'stuff' is part of the propellant, but I'm not sure if you can get WD40 that doesn't come in a spray can?
(I've never heard of it being sticky enough to actually glue anything together, though)
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