A problem with my english longcase clock

[Room 335]

I have bent a fair few hammer springs but never broken one yet. They normally seem to be hardened to a degree but not enough to make them really brittle,
Richard

 

[Uhralt]

Uhralt thanks for the answer ^^ I think that I have found another problem in the clock, when the hammer hits the bell, it returns to its beginning by means of a kind of strap, a spring that is a piece of steel, I think. I have noticed that it does not have much resistance. Before starting to ring, I have pressed the spring manually and it has sounded slowly, could it be that this spring is also bad?, and if so, can it be bent without breaking it? I'm afraid that touching it will break it

I would leave that flat spring alone. It is probably just fine. When you push it with your finger you just make it hard for the clock to start the strike. If you bend it to provide more pressure the clock may not have enough power to lift the hammer. As said before, your problem is caused by too little friction on the fly. You need to increase that friction.

Uhralt

 

[Antonivs]

I think I have fixed the problem, the clock rings more slowly than before and it does not seem to speed up for each chime it strikes,

In this photo you can see how I have fixed it, I have put a spring from the metal of a can that It is quite elastic and manageable, and the fly exerts force against the axis and does not rotate as before without exerting much force, when the clock strikes the last bell, the fly continues to move on its axis a little more and stops.


Without adding weight to the fly or removing the original weight, I have also ordered a new pendulum, the rod and the suspension, which are broken, from a page called cousinsuk.com

I have tried to restore the machine as best as possible, the truth is that this longcase has suffered a lot....

ps Jevan here you can see the assembly of the square piece, under the wheel, I have ordered for another more suitable one on the aforementioned page

 

[Jevan]

Hi Antonivs,
Cousins Material House (cousinuk.com) is a good reputable firm, funnily enough I've ordered from them today as well

I don't want to spoil your Friday night but unless it is more secure than it looks I would consider taking the pendulum off until you get the replacement parts as the suspension spring to lower suspension block joint looks a bit dangerous, I think there is a real chance the pendulum will fall off.

 

[Antonivs]

Jevan your words of warning have been prophetic, the rod came off together with the broken suspension block and pendulum, and fell on the base of the clock, I had to put in new nails, and straighten the splintered wood. and since the weight was on, the clock started to work very quickly, it was like this for about an hour when I realized that the clock had struck a chime, it was 11 at night and the clock marked one in the morning, I had lucky, the teeth of the escape wheel, have not broken

And the anchor is fine,

I will wait until the new parts arrive, to start the clock again

 

[Antonivs]

This is the suspension I bought, the problem is that the original is only 127mm, the one I was going to buy was the same but 137mm and the block was too low from the crutch, one centimeter, that's why I bought the same one, 137mm but with the longest block but with the shortest suspension only 55mm

When all the pieces arrive, I'll put the clock back on

 

[Mike Phelan]

Is it not possible to shorten either the block or suspension spring so the crutch loop is in the block and the bob nut is so that the clock keeps correct time?

 

[Antonivs]

With the one I bought, the block fits perfectly in the crutch loop, I will not touch the suspension, but I can touch the height of the pendulum bob, compensating for the difference of 1cm ^^

 

[Antonivs]

The shipment arrived today and the pieces are on the clock, a new suspension spring, a new pendulum rod, the bob and the spring for the needles.

The only downside is that the pendulum bob doesn't have a hole made for the rod, and it doesn't fit in the other one, the clock has to stay with the old bob for now, I don't know if it's for 30 hours or not. the old bob péndulum has a 11,5cm or 4.52inch of diameter and a mass of 1kg or 2lb. The new bob péndulum is only 8,5 cm or 3.34 inch of diámeter and 1,9lb of mass, I don't know if it can be broken if it's wrong


The clock now works ^^ and it chimes the hours well, without any problem, thanks for your tips to repair the fly ^^


It has been very difficult for me to adjust the beat of the pendulum by the crucht , it is very sensitive and with a minimum of force it is already adjusted.

In the photo you can see the new suspension spring, the new pendulum rod and the fly spring

 

[Peter John]

If that’s an endless chain movement it is more than likely 30 hrs duration. Peter

 

[novicetimekeeper]

The new pendulum will be fine, it is a thirty hour clock, though the run time is decided by the length of the chain and the height off the floor.

 

[Uhralt]

Looking at your picture, the chain should run on the outside of the bottom pillar, not the inside as it is now. One can see the rub marks on the outside.

Uhralt

 

[Mike Phelan]

Definitely! It must have running that way for quite a while, looking at the grooves on the pillar!

 

[Antonivs]

Hello, gooddnight

Peter and novicetimekeeper, thanks for your answer ^^, uhralt and Mike, the pillars have similar marks in both sides, in fact when I disassembled it the chains were on the inside, You can see it better in this photo

When I put the chain on the outside, as the hole is very small, the links of the chain did not go through

 

[Mike Phelan]

Hi Antonivs - more explanation, please


Peter and novicetimekeeper, thanks for your answer ^^, uhralt and Mike, the pillars have similar marks in both sides, in fact when I disassembled it the chains were on the inside, You can see it better in this photo


When I put the chain on the outside (outside of what?) , as the hole

(what hole?) is very small, the links of the chain did not go through (through what?)

 

[Antonivs]

Good morning Mike

the base where the movement is placed has a small gap between the pillar and the wood, the link of the chain on the outside of the pillar collides in that space and does not pass

in this edited photo you can see better, the space between the exterior side of the pillar and the interior gap face of the wood is very small and in the opossite side the situation is identical.

 

[Jeff T]

the chain should not be rubbing ....make the slot bigger in the seat board if needed... .might be able to adjust the movement left or right on the seat board..

 

[Mike Phelan]

Antonivs, in that case it looks as if the seat board has been changed or moved at some time but the striking chain should pass on the outside of the pillar.

 

[shutterbug]

Agree. Maybe the hole needs to be cut a little wider. If it's a replacement anyway, no harm no foul.

 

[Antonivs]

Hello gooddnight

Jeff the seat board hole is small in both sides of the movement clock, moving the movement to the right or left is impossible, in that case one side of the chain is trapped between the pillar and the hole and the other side of the chain passes well.

Mike and Shutterbug It is possible that the movement and the case are not original, I have seen inside, marks of two bobs pendulums of different lengths, the seat board may also be from another movement

You can see it better in this photo, the movement and the dial came in this case and with that seat board

in this photo you can see the original movement when i bought it, before disassembling it.

 

[Mike Phelan]

I'd say that the seat board has been changed (at least) and it you make the chain holes everything will be OK

 

[JimmyOz]

Jeff the seat board hole is small in both sides of the movement clock, moving the movement to the right or left is impossible, in that case one side of the chain is trapped between the pillar and the hole and the other side of the chain passes well.

Looking at other photos of the whole case the dial is centered, if you move the movement it will leave a gap on one side or the other.
All you need to do is make the cut out larger to accomidate the chains to hang without touching any part of the movement or the the seat board.

 

[Mike Phelan]

All you need to do is make the cut out larger to accomidate the chains to hang without touching any part of the movement or the the seat board.

But that is touching the seat board? As I said in post #21 - we are both thinking the same.