Greg Crockett
01-31-2003, 06:51 AM
We all have had them. Those clocks with demons in them which confound our best efforts! Think of the things Edger Allen Poe would have written if he had been vexed with such sorrow.... But then, we are a scientific people and now and then we can find the demon’s tricks. Here, for your approval, are two such demons:
THE FIRST DEMON: A New Haven 8 day t&s shelf clock appeared to have little to no power. Everything appeared to be fine, pivots polished new 8 day springs etc, but the darn thing would not run more than a day. The happy ticking and bonging was not to be heard! A brooding and sullen silence hung over the clock as it sat in my study.
Why?: The plates had shifted causing the pivots to bind in the pivot holes! A combination square clearly showed the lack of alignment of the front and back plates. The solution was to take it apart, tighten the pillar riveting and then bend the assembled plates until the square showed alignment was proper. Sunshine flowed into the room. The clock rang out on the hour a song of triumph over evil!
A DEMON MORE HORRIBLE STILL: A handsome30 year old German chiming clock would stop from time to time w/o an apparent reason. A little adjustment here and there appeared to make it go, only to stop again a week or a month latter. For many years the clock was a vexatious problem. It seemed to get worse and worse. Again and the again the clock was found still and quiet, it’s white face and motionless balance imploring me to release it from the clutches of the demon robbing it of vitality!
Why?: One of the wheels was slightly eccentric (off center). As the pivot holes became a little worn the effect of the eccentric (demonic) wheel intensified to stop the clock more and more often. The solution: The wheel was set in the lathe (of heaven) and the high spots of the teeth were turned off. Then, a fine file was used to reshape the tops of the teeth which had been turned off. Remember, the earliest clockmakers cut all the teeth by hand, if you know how to use a file you can do it. Depth was double checked and the wheel was set in the plates and checked with the adjoining pinions to be sure everything had proper clearance. Note: this clock had solid steel pinions. If it had lantern pinions the slight eccentricity of the wheel would never have caused a problem until the pivot holes had reached a stage of noticeably advanced ware. Upon being set-up and wound-up the clock filed the room with a steady hart-beat of good health. The eccentric demon banished, I was free to move on to other things.
And what of YOUR nightmare clocks? Do you dare share them?
THE FIRST DEMON: A New Haven 8 day t&s shelf clock appeared to have little to no power. Everything appeared to be fine, pivots polished new 8 day springs etc, but the darn thing would not run more than a day. The happy ticking and bonging was not to be heard! A brooding and sullen silence hung over the clock as it sat in my study.
Why?: The plates had shifted causing the pivots to bind in the pivot holes! A combination square clearly showed the lack of alignment of the front and back plates. The solution was to take it apart, tighten the pillar riveting and then bend the assembled plates until the square showed alignment was proper. Sunshine flowed into the room. The clock rang out on the hour a song of triumph over evil!
A DEMON MORE HORRIBLE STILL: A handsome30 year old German chiming clock would stop from time to time w/o an apparent reason. A little adjustment here and there appeared to make it go, only to stop again a week or a month latter. For many years the clock was a vexatious problem. It seemed to get worse and worse. Again and the again the clock was found still and quiet, it’s white face and motionless balance imploring me to release it from the clutches of the demon robbing it of vitality!
Why?: One of the wheels was slightly eccentric (off center). As the pivot holes became a little worn the effect of the eccentric (demonic) wheel intensified to stop the clock more and more often. The solution: The wheel was set in the lathe (of heaven) and the high spots of the teeth were turned off. Then, a fine file was used to reshape the tops of the teeth which had been turned off. Remember, the earliest clockmakers cut all the teeth by hand, if you know how to use a file you can do it. Depth was double checked and the wheel was set in the plates and checked with the adjoining pinions to be sure everything had proper clearance. Note: this clock had solid steel pinions. If it had lantern pinions the slight eccentricity of the wheel would never have caused a problem until the pivot holes had reached a stage of noticeably advanced ware. Upon being set-up and wound-up the clock filed the room with a steady hart-beat of good health. The eccentric demon banished, I was free to move on to other things.
And what of YOUR nightmare clocks? Do you dare share them?