Photo #1 My first cuckoo test stand, used only for a movement out of the case, was a flimsy, precarious, accident-waiting-to-happen affair made from pieces of scrap wood held on to the top of a table with C clamps with paint stirrers and whatnot put across to provide support for the bottom of the plates. When I was ready to put the movement back in the case, I wanted something sturdier and safer that could be used both for a movement out of the case and a fully assembled clock. Photo #2 William Bilger's Cuckoo Clock Repair Manual has some plans for a test stand with a hinged contraption for supporting the case by the roof so that you can look in the back while the clock is running to make adjustments to the hammer and bellows lifters. Maybe I'll make one of those eventually but for now I've come up with a simpler solution Photo #3 My solution was to take a board I had lying around measuring 21" long by 10" wide and cut two rectangular holes in it and screw it down firmly to support underneath. I own three cuckoo clocks, all of which have trim pieces that hang down from the front of the clock. My shelf needed to provide clearance for three things: the trim piece, the chains, and the pendulum. I measured all three of my cuckoos using the back of the trim piece as the key reference point to see how far back the chain holes and pendulum slot are. As you can see, I can put tools on the back of the shelf, and I can sit in a chair while working on the hammer and bellows lifters with the back panel off of the clock while the clock is running. Photo #4 This shows the underside of the test stand showing the two rectangular holes. The little strip of wood left in between the two holes is important because it provides support for the bottom of the plates when the stand is used for a movement out of the case.
I've used old plastic or metal milk crates. Set the movement atop the crate and string the weights and pendulum through the holes. The weights won't have much space to fall through, but generally enough to diagnose the clock. Or the whole crate could sit on slats so that the weights can drop through the bottom side of the crate. Works quite well, though plastic stationery-store milk crates used for holding files can flex if you've got the heavy weights of an 8-day cuckoo clock.
I've used two screws to attach the clock to a high shelf. This way I can see everything and the weights can fall most of the distance.
That is very impressive - it probably took you some time to make it but worth it. The design is very similar to what is in Bilger's book.
You can buy those roof holding stands from some of the usual suppliers. They're not great for 8 day clocks though - the roofs of modern day clocks are not fastened strongly enough to hold the weight.
I don't work on enough cuckoos to worry about making a test stand. A friend uses a piece of plywood mounted to the side of a bookcase using hinges. It's about a foot wide and two feet tall and is attached to the front corner of the bookcase, at eye level, so that it can fold away, up next to the side of the bookcase. In the plywood, there are three holes cut in a vertical line in the center of the board that roughly replicate the back opening case dimensions of the three most popular sizes of clocks. He mounts the clock on the board as you would on a wall and over the appropriate hole. The clock's front is available with the board parallel to the front of the bookcase. The back is available by hinging it so the board is parallel to the side of the bookcase and reaching through the hole in the board.. It works very well and takes up virtually no space when not in use.
Here is a cuckoo stand I made from one of those old drill presses that you strapped your handheld drill into. Got it at an estate sale for a buck. The other pic is off its big brother. It was a large drill press that was worn out, so I cut a slot in the table to fit weights and pendulum. It will hold anything!
I got the idea for that from William Bilger's Cuckoo Clock Repair Manual - he calls it a crank. The idea is to allow you to turn the minute tube without risk of damage to the real minute hand. I took a piece of scrap metal, drilled a 3/32" hole in it and used a small file to square off the hole to fit the square part of the minute arbor.
