Homemade Suspension Spring?

[Addable13]

I bought this clock Friday at the thrift store. I hung it in my basement next to my work bench as the movement is in need of a cleaning. The pendulum is clearly spray painted black. I noticed the pendulum twisting as it swings back and forth. I look thru the side glass & noticed something off. I pulled the back panel off, & there's no suspension spring. Somebody at a point in time replaced the spring with a piece of paper & lost the mounting screw. It's held by a pinon in the suspension post, & another pinon holding the pendulum leader. How was this running?

 

[Willie X]

It's called 'making a sale' without spending any money.

With a 39 year old Hermle this may be the least of your troubles.

Willie X

 

[Addable13]

It's called 'making a sale' without spending any money.

With a 39 year old Hermle this may be the least of your troubles.

Willie X

I only paid 5$ for it, and the tag said “For Repair”

 

[R. Croswell]

I only paid 5$ for it, and the tag said “For Repair”

Is this your first adventure in clock repair, or do you have previous clock experience?

Not a bad looking "modern" clock and worth fixing. Not the best beginner clock, but you have nothing to lose by trying. You correctly recognized that it needs to be cleaned. You can only do a proper cleaning by disassembling the movement. Anything else will only make it look better, but the crud you need to remove is where you can't see it while it is assembled. Pendulum wobble can be caused by a lot of things but start with replacing the paper suspension. If the suspension fits too loosely in the support post the pendulum is likely to wobble. A proper fitting suspension spring may cure that problem. A tapered pin is often use to hold the spring in the post, and a straight pin comes permanently fixed to the new spring. (these are not pinions)

RC

 

[Addable13]

I’ve done a couple of Regula cuckoo movements, a Jauch time & strike, a Hermle time & strike with a floating balance, a Kundo 400 day, & a hermle wall clock movement. Seeing paper used as a suspension spring is foreign to me, not surprised as an El cheapo fix.

 

[R. Croswell]

I’ve done a couple of Regula cuckoo movements, a Jauch time & strike, a Hermle time & strike with a floating balance, a Kundo 400 day, & a hermle wall clock movement. Seeing paper used as a suspension spring is foreign to me, not surprised as an El cheapo fix.

Just realized that no one answered your original question, "How was this running?" The suspension spring really contributes nothing to the running of the clock. It has three functions, suspend the weight of the pendulum, allow the pendulum to swing, and direct the movement of the pendulum in the desired direction. That paper contraption does these things so there is no reason why it should not run. I would not expect it to last very long, perhaps long enough for a quick sale. I suspect that you may have other questions when you open this one up.

You say you have "done" a few clocks, and quite a diverse group it is, but just what does done include? I hope that it included disassembly for cleaning and bushing worn pivot holes. I'm not sure if this movement is one that is subject to failing plated pivots or not. If it is, you will need to deal with that before installing bushings.

RC

 

[Addable13]

Disassembly, pivot polishing, & cleaning. I haven’t done many bushings. I don’t own any tools for removing main springs from barrels. I’m not real fond of working on post 1970 Hermle’s.