Can a totally blind person repair clocks?

[Blind Clock Guy]

I've been totally blind from berth. I've always had a fascination with all things mechanical. I have a very nice clock repair person who said he would help me. What are your thoughts on this? I'm very good with my hands and am willing to learn. I know how clocks work and even what all the repair tools are but have no experience actually working with them. Besides the basics, putting a clock in beet, regulation, and other basic things. I've never used a let down key or a main spring winder before but I'm sure I could if I had some one sit me down and show them to me. I know of a blind man who repaired pocket watches from the 1800s all he needed was help from a sited person to do the hair springs. Any suggestions or thoughts would be much appreciated. I'm posting this so I can build up my confidence. Being only 23 I know I'm young, but like I've heard on here and so many other places horology is a dieing art and we need all the young people we can get.

 

[Jess19721]

Hi there,

What an interesting idea! I'm very new to clock repair myself, but I think if you have a partner you certainly could do many of the elements of clock repair, why not? I think a good idea might be to try out an Ogee weight driven clock as a starter? They are surprisingly plentiful on eBay for relatively low cost, and the larger wheels would be easier to begin with, plus no springs to have to contend with. I think the Ogee movements are really neat clocks, and there is something very satisfying about them. Something very straightforward and no-nonsense, very American if you know what I mean. If you do get into it I hope you post and let us know what you are working on and how things are coming. I bet you would be great at getting clocks in beat too!

 

[Paul Statham]

I was reading the paper today and there was an article about a man from Germany who was born without any arms and he started to play the french horn when he was 4, and now is appearing on the BBC proms, he is a maestro and the plays the horn with his left foot with the horn placed on a tripod, it amazes me how people can adapt and do things no matter what. You can only try things otherwise you never know what you are capable of, i say go for it keeps us informed no matter what.All the best and good luck

 

[shutterbug]

There are many things related to clock repair where blindness might be a blessing, like your trained ears being able to pick up nuances that others might miss. Other parts of it would cause issues, although not insurmountable ones. A seeing person can quickly spot issues like pivot movement, bad trundles, things like that. You will be able to do the same, but it will require "seeing" each part of each wheel with your hands. More difficult things like drop and impulse will be more challenging, but I think the only way to find out is to jump in and try it. If you can partner with someone who does clock repair, he could coach you through the rough spots.
I'm impressed with your desire to learn. You'll work at a slower pace, but you communicate here very well, even if slower and with special tools.
Welcome to the fascinating world of clocks!

 

[Bernhard J.]

Hi,

I suppose that dissassembly, cleaning, and reassembly will be not problem. More difficult, presumably, will be rebushing (if needed) and oiling, in particular small oil recesses. You can easily identify a need for rebushing without looking at it (radial play of the respective wheel is easily felt), but the precise setting of a new bushing such that the hole is is placed excatly where the original hole was, when good, will be the problem. With respect to oiling, I do not have the phantasy, how one can precisely "hit" the very small target area with the oiler tip without seeing were it goes. I use a loup for that.

But just go ahead and try, the worst thing that can happen is that you fail and turn to other things.

For practicing, I would recommend a pre-1900 qualitiy English clock movement. Such movements are not very expensive, but nevertheless very solid and often without serious faults. I would avoid cheap German or US mass production movements of the last 150 years, these can be extremely frustrating even for persons with eagle eyes. Start with a time only movement, proceed to chiming movements, and soon you will be able to handle most English clock movements of the pre-1900 era fully on your own.

Best, Bernhard

 

[Dave T]

Attitude and desire is about 90% of the requirement. And you seem to have both.
Don't know where you are, but if you could find a clock repair shop close by, that would be a good place to ask.
Good luck in your endeavor!

 

[Blind Clock Guy]

I oiled 2 movements already. I just feel for the pivits, not much different from reading braille and put oil in the holes. My problem is I tend to put to much on and have to wipe it off. Both movements had stopped running and I thought I'de oil them. Nothing to lose but a few drops of oil, right? Well, I was just trying it out on a movement I decided to practice on and it worked. The other movement is a hamburg who's case was destroyed before I got it. It is running great. The only problem with it is a worn pivit hole on the third wheel on the strike train, I'll deal with that later, it still runs and the pivits on that arber need to be polished any way.

 

[shutterbug]

Oil won't help a worn movement. You're going to have to take the plunge

 

[Blind Clock Guy]

So true. Luckily it isn't to far gone but it's getting close. Will give updates on here as I go through my journey. Hopefully my story can inspire other young people to do this.

 

[Thomas Sanguigni]

I think you should also be extremely careful with springs. They retain lots of power, and can be dangerous.

 

[R. Croswell]

It is amazing to me what sightless people can do and I encourage you to pursue this challenge with a mentor and see how it goes. Only you can answer the question, can a totally blind person repair clocks? Very few clocks come to the shop needing nothing more than oiling and minor adjustments, most come in not running because something is broken or worn out. They almost always need to be disassembled and typically require bushing installations and sometimes require lathe work on the pivots. Things a sighted person does routinely during a clock repair could pose a physical danger to a blind person so be careful. You may need to adapt some of the tools and methods to your special needs.

RC

 

[kinsler33]

I've been totally blind from berth. I've always had a fascination with all things mechanical. I have a very nice clock repair person who said he would help me. What are your thoughts on this? I'm very good with my hands and am willing to learn. I know how clocks work and even what all the repair tools are but have no experience actually working with them. Besides the basics, putting a clock in beet, regulation, and other basic things. I've never used a let down key or a main spring winder before but I'm sure I could if I had some one sit me down and show them to me. I know of a blind man who repaired pocket watches from the 1800s all he needed was help from a sited person to do the hair springs. Any suggestions or thoughts would be much appreciated. I'm posting this so I can build up my confidence. Being only 23 I know I'm young, but like I've heard on here and so many other places horology is a dieing art and we need all the young people we can get.

Clocks are interesting, and I suspect that your interest will sustain you through the more difficult parts. I would, however, concur that clock mainsprings can be dangerous, or will at least incur minor wounds.

I should mention that the only way of telling how successful you would be is to simply try repairing clocks, which is to say that most of us here are not really qualified to offer specific help.

Oh: I have a tremor, and tend to slop oil upon every clock movement. A rag kept nearby will clean up most mistakes.

 

[Blind Clock Guy]

It's not the springs I'm worried about. I'll just be careful with them and I should be ok. Accidents happen but they can be avoided with a little extra care. The thing I'm more concerned with is bushing the plates. I've been successful at finding worn holes so far. With a little experience I can only get better. As for finding out which way a hole is worn I just use a little advice from videos I watched on the subject. Unless you've seen anything different the holes usually ware in the direction the previous wheel is going. I thought about using a bushing machine. The person I'm planning on working with has one. Knowing all this do you think I could use one? From what I've read about them they seem pretty strate forword. Just put the plate on the machine, center it with the bit making sure its on the unworn side, clamp the plate in place, and the rest is easy.

 

[R. Croswell]

It's not the springs I'm worried about. I'll just be careful with them and I should be ok. Accidents happen but they can be avoided with a little extra care. The thing I'm more concerned with is bushing the plates. I've been successful at finding worn holes so far. With a little experience I can only get better. As for finding out which way a hole is worn I just use a little advice from videos I watched on the subject. Unless you've seen anything different the holes usually ware in the direction the previous wheel is going. I thought about using a bushing machine. The person I'm planning on working with has one. Knowing all this do you think I could use one? From what I've read about them they seem pretty strate forword. Just put the plate on the machine, center it with the bit making sure its on the unworn side, clamp the plate in place, and the rest is easy.

It would great if bushing machines actually worked that well. It is written that with enough faith one can walk on water, but as far as I know there has only ever been one who actually did. I'm sure there are a lot of things that a sightless person can learn to do in clock repair, but don't lose sight of reality. I don't believe that you will walk on water, and I believe that you will need a sighted assistant for some tasks for a long while.

RC

 

[Blind Clock Guy]

So does anyone on here think I can do bushings with out site?

 

[Blind Clock Guy]

I guess like everyone on here says the only way I can figure out if I can do it is to try.

 

[kinsler33]

Bushing machines are amazingly expensive and they haven't improved in recent years. A small drill press should work just as well. The cheapest one from Harbor Freight should work nicely.

8 in. 5 Speed Bench Drill Press

Amazing deals on this 8In 5 Speed Bench Drill Press at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

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You might wish to add an X-Y table:6 in. Cross Slide Vise

As to doing bushings in the dark, my guess is that you're perfectly clever at work-arounds. I'm not certain how one would go about bushing without being able to see, but since I haven't thought about it I imagine that it wouldn't be impossible. Clocks are not high-precision mechanisms: my main concern would be finding tools and parts that I've dropped on the floor, and I'm not so great at that now.

Please let us know how you're doing, and good luck.

M Kinsler

 

[Dave T]

The essence of this thread is how much can you do. I struggle with this on many new things I try.
I tend to over analyze the project and learn all I can before attempting to do it.
But in the long run, the only way you know is just do it, learn from it, and continue to learn and try.

The same applies here I would think. You will most likely be pleasantly surprised at what you can do, and also run into issues you didn't consider.

Bottom line, go for it!

 

[R. Croswell]

So does anyone on here think I can do bushings with out site?

Yes, I do believe that you can install bushings without sight. Properly installing bushings can be challenging for a sighted person, and some of the methods that have been described in this forum, and demonstrated in some on-line videos are likely to lead to poor quality outcomes. Once you have determined where a bushing is needed, here are some things that you will need to do and some of the obstacles that you will need to overcome. You will need to assess the condition of the pivot, is it smooth, does it have any scratches or grooves. I think you can learn to do this with the "finger nail" test and be good enough for the typical American mantel clock. Then you will need to measure the pivot to see what size bushing will be required. You won't be able to read a micrometer, but there are pivot gauges that consist of a metal plate with various size holes to try until you find one that fits. You know where the pivot goes and what size bushing to use, but that worn pivot hole is egg shaped, not round. The challenge is to make the hole round and also centered over where the original hole was. This is a challenge for a sighted person as well. You are correct about determining which side of the pivot hole is worn, you can do that. You will need to remove the corresponding amount of material from the unworn side of the pivot hole to make it centered and round. You basically have three options; hand tools, a bushing machine, or machine tools such as a milling machine.

With hand tools or a bushing machine you can begin with a reamer that will fit into the worn hole and turn it a partial rotation to cut or nibble away the unworn side of the hole. You will be able to feel when the cutter stops cutting just the unworn side and starts cutting full circle. At that point the hole is pretty well centered and ready to ream for the bushing.

Bushing machines use a centering point to find the original pivot hole center, then the plate is clamped, and the reamer is turned and lowered to ream the hole to size, much like would be done on a mill. The problem is that typical bushing machine has too much runout and lacks the rigidity to hold the reamer on center. But you can feel the reamer cutting and use the nibbling technique to center the hole, A bushing machine does an excellent job of holding the reamer vertical and doing the bushing installation.

I do not recommend a drill press for you because you will not be able to "feel" the reamer working. Also most drill presses lack machine tool precision and, if run under power, can easily ream the hole over size.

A milling machine used for bushing work relies on the plate being securely clamped and precisely aligned, and the machine having near zero runout and sufficient rigidity to hold the cutter on center even in an oval hole. You have zero feel and rely on the machine and your precise setup to locate the bushing hole. With practice and the use of gauge pins to locate the hole center you should be able to also do bushings this way.

So yes, I feel sure that you can learn to install bushings if you select methods that are suited to your ability.

RC

 

[shutterbug]

but as far as I know there has only ever been one who actually did

There were two, actually. The other was Peter
Regarding the bushing machine, I think it would be of great benefit to Blind Clock Guy. He would no doubt be able to find center and cut a hole more accurately than he could by hand.

 

[kinsler33]

On my little drill press you can slip off the belt and turn the drive pulley by hand. I've done this for other tricky operations.

 

[R. Croswell]

I think a greater challenge for a sightless person than installing bushings will be getting a couple dozen pinots all back in their respective holes when the upper plate is being replaced. If one cannot see them and cannot feel them, I think this will be a difficult obstacle to overcome.

RC

 

[Willie X]

A small mill would be your best approach to bushing work.

Using anything else reqires a lot of finagling but a mill will work just as you describe in post #13.

Willie X

 

[R. Croswell]

A small mill would be your best approach to bushing work.

Using anything else reqires a lot of finagling but a mill will work just as you describe in post #13.

Willie X

The OP said, "I thought about using a bushing machine. The person I'm planning on working with has one. Knowing all this do you think I could use one? From what I've read about them they seem pretty strate forword". I think my advice would be for him to follow the advice of the person he will be working with. Sounds like a bushing machine is available, I would give it a try and go on from there depending on what problems are encountered.

RC