Beacon 31 day 200th Constitution Anniversary clock-Mainspring slips/broken

[shutterbug]

Post #46

 

[wsscott]

Gotcha-Do I move it 1 gear "forward" to the left, or 1 gear "rearward" to the right?

 

[wsscott]

"tooth" not "gear"

 

[Rod Schaffter]

Rod-I let the clock run on its own and noted the hour gongs. The hour gongs for 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 are 1 gong short; the gong for 7 is 1 gong extra, ie. 8 times, and 8, 9, 10, 11,12, & 1 are correct. All half-hour single gongs are correct. I have not done anything to the snail or related pieces. Does this information help with a diagnosis of what's going on? Thanks.

Look at the snail and see where the rack tail falls on each step; it should be roughly in the middle of the correct step. If it on the edge or on the wrong step, , the snail needs to be moved one tooth in the appropriate direction to get it on the correct step.

Also, is I asked earlier of the rack hook was between the teeth or above the tooth when it is on warning at ours other than 3? Is the rack tail straight or twisted relative to the snail?

The video Shutterbug is referring to was posted by DaveT a few posts back. I haven't looked at it myself.....

 

[shutterbug]

CCW I think. But the rack tail may be the more important thing.

 

[wsscott]

Sorry, but what does CCW stand for?

 

[shutterbug]

Counter Clockwise.

 

[wsscott]

Rod, before the Warning, the gathering pallet is at the bottom end of the rack. Then a minute or so before the Warning, it moves into the first groove of the rack. Then at the Warning it moves into position, but 1 groove short of where it should be and thus the short gongs at certain hours. As to the rack tail, it seems to always fall right into the corner of the snail step when the gong starts, not in the middle of the snail's step. The tail is straight. When the rack tail is in Warning position, it is in the groove. The attached photo is a good example. Its at 5 o'clock and is 1 short on the gong. As you can see, the rack tail is in the groove but in groove 4 vs. groove 5 where it should be. You can also see where the rack tail is in relation to the snail. I hope this helps. I still haven't made any changes.

 

[Dave T]

Take the snail off. Adjust it CCw as advised, and be sure the rack falls in the middle of the flat portion of each hour. Do that first and then see how it responds. It's not a big deal to move the snail. If it's not right do it again.

 

[wsscott]

Thanks. I'll give that a try and let you know what the result is.

 

[wsscott]

I adjusted the snail 1 tooth as was suggested, and things seem to be fixed. Thanks so much for your help. I noticed that when I started to loosen the screw holding the keeper for the snail in place, it was already loose. Why/how I don't know. So maybe that had something to do with the gong problem. Anyway, thanks again.

 

[wsscott]

Now for hopefully my last tweak, it sets the Warning on the hour and half hour, and doesn't gong until about 2 minutes after the hour or half-hour. Is there a way to adjust that? Thanks again.

 

[shutterbug]

The minute hand might have a center bushing. You can put the tail of a file into the hole and grasp the hand at the base to force it to turn backward a little. Trial and error.

 

[Rod Schaffter]

There is some slop in the minute hand, so this will likely work; stop the pendulum, slowly move move the minute hand until it strikes, hold the hand and loosen the hand nut and gently move it to the hour/half and tighten it whilst holding it.

 

[shutterbug]

If that works, you'll likely have to do it every time you set the time. A little fussy, but doable

 

[Rod Schaffter]

If that works, you'll likely have to do it every time you set the time. A little fussy, but doable

I've had to do this on practically every striking clock I've ever worked on; one just make sure the hand nut is tight...

 

[Rod Schaffter]

I looked on mine, and it has a hex bushing on the back of th eminute hand. Put it in a open-end or a Crescent wrench and give it a tweak in the appropriate direction...

 

[wsscott]

Thanks, I'll give it a try and update you. I believe this clock is a 31 day clock, and it seems like the gong strike is getting slower than when it was first wound 14 days ago. Is this normal, or does the gong need to be wound more frequently than the time mainspring. I assume its called a 31 day clock because the time only needs to be wound every 31 days?

 

[shutterbug]

In theory it will go 31 days on a single wind. It probably won't keep great time over that many days though. I would recommend winding every two weeks, and not quite full. Leave a couple turns before fully wound to even out the spring tension over the running time.

 

[wsscott]

Well it finally wound down and stopped today after 28 days!! Pretty good I"d say. It was behind about 5-7 minutes, so not bad at all. I think winding every 14 days makes sense.