Hour Strike on half hour

[ticktock]

Ingraham movement in kitchen clock is a time and strike. The clock will keep correct time and strike anywhere from 12-24 hours then suddenly it will full stike on the half hour and then maybe go back to the normal full strike on the hour later. I cannot figure this one out and cannot see what is going on. Any suggestions on what could cause this?

 

[ticktock]

Ingraham movement in kitchen clock is a time and strike. The clock will keep correct time and strike anywhere from 12-24 hours then suddenly it will full stike on the half hour and then maybe go back to the normal full strike on the hour later. I cannot figure this one out and cannot see what is going on. Any suggestions on what could cause this?

 

[BIG D]

When it begins to strike on the hour again, is it correct or is the count off?
Is the movement a passing strike on the half hour?

 

[ticktock]

Don, the count is off. Sometime during the sleeping hours it happened. This morning at 5:30AM
it struck 6 times. At 6AM it struck once.

 

[doc_fields]

You may have to do a little further adjustment on your levers or adjust the gong strike plate (3rd wheel w/ 2 notches in plate) a tad. I would double-check all levers and their stops on the strike side. Something there needs just a tweak more so this doesn't happen. Been there and done that---had it happen to me a few times.........doc

 

[Cactus50]

Hello Tick

I would suggest looking at the count wheel teeth. In particular look for a bent long tooth that would partially block the count lever from falling properly.

 

[shutterbug]

I give my $.02 worth - Your strike stop lever may be a bit too high, and allows the pin to pass sporatically. Another possibility is that the pin is just a fraction late gettin to the lever and occasionally letting it get by. Either of these scenarios will allow the strike to go for the next full cycle before stopping. If you find the count hook seating correctly and the locking cam lever seating well in the cam slot, this is the most likely next thing to look at.

 

[Seth Thomas Fan]

I have a somewhat similar problem. I have a Seth Thomas bim bam clock (quarter hour strike) with the ST 89I movement. It will sometimes continue striking after the count hook is supposed to drop into a countwheel slot, and not stop till it's in the next countwheel slot. Thus, when it strikes next time it will be a quarter hour ahead of the indicated time. Then, it may go many hours or even a day before it skips ahead to the next deep countwheel slot.

I've checked to make sure the count hook is not bent and pointing directly at the stike winding arbor, and that the countwheel slots are aligned with the count hook, both parallel to each other and properly centered.

I did notice that there is some wear in the no. 3 strike side pivot hole in both plates, one more so than the other. But haven't noticed any loss in power in the strike train or failure to strike. But since the maintenance cam is on the no. 3 wheel, could a slight mis-position in the no. 3 wheel due to a worn pivot hole cause the counthook to skip to the next slot? Since the drop lever doesn't actually touch the side of the slot in the maintenance cam (locking is provided by a locking lever and pin on the 4th wheel) I can't see why the pivot hole would cause this problem. I don't see any irregularities in the countwheel.

 

[Seth Thomas Fan]

Shutterbug,

I will try your 0.02 worth! I know the locking lever is positively engaging the pin on the 4th wheel (but maybe I should take another look at the no. 4 wheel pivot holes! I thought they were OK). I'll take a look to be sure the drop lever is centered in the maintenance cam when locking occurs and correct if needed.

Thanks,

 

[shutterbug]

Sometimes you just need to be there to see what is happening. Set the movement up on a stand and just cycle the strike sequence until it fails to stop. That should show where the issue is.
BTW, It's been a while since I worked on the 1/4 hour striking clock, but I thought it was a rack style movement, not count wheel. (?)

 

[ticktock]

Thank You for all this useful information. I am checking it out now and will report back when found.

 

[Seth Thomas Fan]

BTW, It's been a while since I worked on the 1/4 hour striking clock, but I thought it was a rack style movement, not count wheel. (?)

I don't mean to be diluting the response to ticktock's original question about his 1/2 hour clock, but we may be facing similar issues with our respective clocks. Sorry if I'm causing any confusion, as his clock is the topic of this thread.

I have two ST quarter hour bim bam 8-day mantel clocks, the one with the problem has a countwheel strike (the ST 89I movement), the other (ST 89L) has a rack and snail, or more accurately a disc with progressively deeper curved slots for the hour strikes. It has a 3-pin gathering pallet pressed onto an extra-long pivot on the third strike wheel arbor.

 

[ticktock]

I wanted to report back to let everyone know what the problem was. The locking lever needed to be pulled more toward the locking pin wheel. On some rare occasions it would not lock. Pushing this lever away from the back plate toward the locking pin wheel solved the problem. Again thanks to everyone for the replies.