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  1. T

    Main Springs - an appreciation and what ought I be looking for?

    Thanks for the responses and my comments: I wouldn't mind skipping my dipping process but any concerns about getting the oil on the inner most part of the spring coil? It gets awful tight in there. I've been using a 75W90 synthetic automotive gear oil based on a recommendation. Seems to be...
  2. T

    Main Springs - an appreciation and what ought I be looking for?

    Hi Glen, I'm not sure how I arrived at my methodology but I dip the spring in oil, then let it drip the excess back into the oil bath for an hour or so, and then wipe with a oil soaked cloth. The dipping part came about to ensure the spring was 100% oil covered, and the oil soaked cloth is to...
  3. T

    Main Springs - an appreciation and what ought I be looking for?

    With clock repair, I started with electro-magnetics, then tall case (weight driven), and now I'm finding myself into spring driven clocks. With regard to mainsprings, I fell into the newbie trap in thinking the mainspring was a relative passive thing that didn't need much attention. So I was a...
  4. T

    Insights from a friend that doesn't work on clocks

    but understands them. While I was working on a real disaster of a clock, he stopped by, looked at the clock and said: "The clocks escape meant well. However, it's escapement bent well." Thurmond
  5. T

    Craziest clock you've been asked to repair

    A friend asked me to repair this clock for his mother. It was missing its bezel and glass, and the pendulum bob. BUT it had wooden hands that actually fit very well. They don't interfere and they were sized appropriately to the minute and hour shafts. The movement had spider webs in it...
  6. T

    Barr & Poole Brillie A Brillie barely hanging on ...

    Hi EscapeWheel, The link you provided discusses the electrical contacts (circled and pointed to in blue below). And they are an important part of the electrical portion of the clock. The part (tooth) I'm interested in is purely mechanical in nature. This tooth rides over the ratchet gear...
  7. T

    Barr & Poole Brillie A Brillie barely hanging on ...

    Over the years, I've picked up various electro-mechanical 'junkers' for not much money. I pulled out a Brillie from the collection to see what ails it. To start, it was one the most tarnished and gummed up clocks I've come across. The brass was completely black and the gear train did not want...
  8. T

    Oh man ... my first fusee overhaul

    I'll take a stab at this citing my ME degree (from 30 years ago) as my basis of knowledge ... Say you are the unfortunate fellow, whose fusee clock was improperly wound with a worn cable, and a failure is eminent. He would say a failure, either with a chain or cable, is going to be sudden and...
  9. T

    Oh man ... my first fusee overhaul

    Good observation. I have the clock disassembled (again) and I will straighten them. I'm not sure how they got bent in the first place but I'm pretty sure they were there prior to my disassembly. The pixs I'm presenting were taken during disassembly the 1st disassembly at my hands.
  10. T

    Oh man ... my first fusee overhaul

    Obviously, I'm no authority on fusee's since this is my first overhaul, and I probably shouldn't have said 'clearly meant'. The reason why I made my comment is based on the way the gut is attached to the barrel. The three holes (and their unequal spacing) look to me as a means to secure gut as...
  11. T

    Oh man ... my first fusee overhaul

    The grooves would appear to be squared bottomed. Yet the barrel was clearly meant to receive a cable.
  12. T

    Oh man ... my first fusee overhaul

    Hi Uhralt, Thanks for the great suggestion to use tennis racket gut! I suspect that's what the clock had in originally. For the first reassembly, I reused the old cable because I new the odds were against getting it right the first time. Also, on really nice clocks (as this one is), I like...
  13. T

    Oh man ... my first fusee overhaul

    All is good until the final winding ... eh. It's all got to come apart again. By the way, can anybody recommend a source for the type of plastic cable with green strip that I currently have on the clock? It obviously needs replacing and I like the feel of what I have because it has virtually...
  14. T

    Bulle Yet another Bulle controller ...

    Bryan has made some good products. I still use a MicroTimer of his that I purchased some 15+ years ago. I've always wondered why he retracted his controller from the marketplace. Especially when I've heard people say good things about it. I have a feeling that any type of controller offered...
  15. T

    Bulle Yet another Bulle controller ...

    Hi Frank, I feel like controlling the Bulle is a knife's edge. When everything is just right, it can be done. But even the smallest deviation from a perfect mechanical setup and the controller doesn't stand a chance. And the rachet wheel ... oh don't get me started. Just like you said, if...
  16. T

    Bulle Yet another Bulle controller ...

    Hi Peter, To answer your questions: 1) My original calculations gave me a +/- 20 sec per month of error that the controller could correct. During development, I'm finding that +/- 15 is more realistic. 2+3) The isochronism spring is a interesting device. Years ago, when I was first...
  17. T

    Bulle Yet another Bulle controller ...

    As an controls engineer, I just couldn't help but try to devise a controller to regulate my Bulle clocks. Self imposed requirements: 1) It has to be non-intrusive, meaning the clock is not modified in any way (no cutting wires or inserting other devices). The control system connects to the...
  18. T

    Trouble removing spring from barrel

    Nothing stuck on the hook. The hook is fashioned rather crudely but seems to do its job.
  19. T

    Trouble removing spring from barrel

    Thanks guys for the suggestions. A combination of trying the techniques suggested finally freed the spring. The clearance for the needle nose pliers was close but not enough to really grab the spring. But after a couple times of reseating the spring within the sleeve (and trying a smaller...
  20. T

    Trouble removing spring from barrel

    The outer hook doesn't want to release from the spring. The first barrel came apart without too much trouble. I've tried gripping the removal sleeve with electrical tape and a hose clamp as a means to grip the sleeve (and spring) so that I could 'wobble' the spring around, and to apply so...
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