400 Day Kundo Giving Me Fits........

[jh225]

I picked up a 400 day Kundo off evilbay and of course the seller refused to take my detailed packing instructions into her little closed mind, and the suspension spring was busted upon arrival.

The clock itself is in outstanding condition, so I used Terwilligers book and made up a new spring assembly.

The clock winds easy enough and has plenty of strength when I let off the pressure.

Problem comes as thus: I start the pendulum and it will spin as normal and kick the escapement wheel as it should. This lasts for about 3-5 minutes (and the minute hand moves) and then starts getting less and less rotation of the balls.

After about 8-10 minutes the pendulum (balls) stop moving at all. It seems as though the clock works itself are not moving/charging. Just looks like once the spring twist is totally gone, the clock stops.

What would cause this?

Does the pendulum charge the gears or do the gears charge the pendulum?

I really know nothing about 400 day clocks, so I am ready to pull out what is left of my hair.

 

[harold bain]

jh, try to keep your hair in place. The pendulum is powered by the gears. You have the 400 day book as a guide, so make sure your clock is in beat. Chances are good your clock really needs a good cleaning and lube job.

 

[jh225]

The pendulum is powered by the gears. You have the 400 day book as a guide, so make sure your clock is in beat.

That's what I thought. (at least I had some idea as to how it worked)

Clock appears to be in beat without using timing fork thingy. It does rotate the same distance and time both ways.

Like you said, I guess I will be taking it all apart and cleaning it.

 

[Kevin W.]

It does not have to be that far out of beat to not run, just a hair out and it will stop.

 

[jh225]

It does not have to be that far out of beat to not run, just a hair out and it will stop.

I knew there was a reason I wasn't into these clocks!!

I will borrow a timing tool and see what happens.

Thanks

 

[lesbradley]

That's what I thought. (at least I had some idea as to how it worked)

Clock appears to be in beat without using timing fork thingy. It does rotate the same distance and time both ways.

Like you said, I guess I will be taking it all apart and cleaning it.

Is this a miniature size movement? If so the fork height is very critical on these. Just a very small adjustment from the drawings in the guide can make quite a difference on how the clock runs.

 

[shutterbug]

When timing it, you want the minimal amount of rotation that will cause escapement action. Then be sure it's the same on both sides.

 

[John Hubby]

jh, the main thing to check is to see if your clock is in beat. The same time and amount of rotation to either side doesn't mean the clock is in beat, what is really important is how far the pendulum rotates after each "tick" in both directions. That is called overswing and must be equal in both directions for the clock to be in beat.

If there is more overswing on one side than the other, simply turn the upper suspension saddle slightly toward the short side until they are both equal. Let's say overswing is more on the left side than the right, looking at the back of the clock. You will need to rotate the upper suspension saddle counter-clockwise (toward the short side, from the back) to increase overswing on the right, which will reduce overswing on the left at the same time.

A little practice with this and you should be able to bring the clock into beat, then you can adjust the timekeeping.

 

[jh225]

Thanks John, I will check into that. Like I said, I am pretty clueless about this type of clock.

 

[oldetymes]

Putting the 400's into beat is a challenge to say the least by eye and judgement. I would recommend seeking a timing device. I use the Microset 3 with Time set to "1" and Beat set to "Beats per Second". This allows me to do turn the saddle every so slightly one way or the other to achieve the target of 7.5000 for each beat. It doesn't have to be perfect but close on either side will do. Also, as said earlier it just might also need a thorough cleaning. Also, check for any kinks in the suspension spring? It is easy to do when reattaching the newly made up spring.

Dave @ Olde Tymes