I think I have a German tall case clock, but know next to nothing about it.

[op7881]

Someone gave me this clock two or three years ago. I know nothing about repairing clocks, but I am a woodworker and this was to be a nice winter project. (I've always wanted a "grandfather" clock.) I like this one because it's so simple, but it has suffered a lot of indignities. The glass is missing from the door and one of the side glasses is broken. It looks as though, in a clumsy attenpt to "repair" it, someone glued in the bottom front panel, so it responded by splitting down the middle.

I can't read all of the writing on the top. I found your site by putting in "Eberbach", which is the only thing I could read for sure. I have no idea of the condition of the works. I took pictures as best I could, but I didn't want to try and take anything apart. I have the metal trim piece that is missing from the face in the picture, and I have lots of chain and three weights: one small and two large. I know so little about clock repair I don't even know where to begin to look for someone to fix it. Is it even worth it?

Help! Someone tell me where to start!

 

[soaringjoy]

Welcome to the message board, op.

I believe you have found the right place to go for information on your clock, oh yes!
At first sight,I thought the clock was a Bergische or Westphalian type. Many were made there
and almost all are unique in their way.

Your clock is another exception of the rule and I had a hard time finding something about it,
because the term "Eberbach" stands for the town, the location of the clockmaker.
In this case, Eberbach, a small town in the Odenwald region was way, way out of line and is usually
not especially emphasized, when it comes down to clockmaking.
But, as it was, there were at least two well known generations of clockmakers down there in
Eberbach.
The senior, Franz Jakob Braun, born 1737, became a Master Clockmaker of the Guild and was
specialized on tall case and tower clocks. He was often seen in the reknown castles of the nobles,
where he repaired "ye olde" clocks of the 14th and 15th centuries, and so on.
Two of his sons, Franz Jakob (jr.), born 1768, and Karl Ludwig, born 1778, both also became clockmakers
and in fact, were enrolled as apprentices of the Guild at the age of 2 and 4 years old...
The youngest son Karl Ludwig died in 1846.
That much said, have another look at the inscription, which really looks like Franz Jakob Braun to me -
umhh, now that I know it, of course.
In the region, the clocks were commonly called "Braun'sche Uhren", nomen est omen.

The town of Eberbach stills provides loads of infomation in German, but the last picture
tells it all.

http://cms7.eberbach.de/pb/,Lde/296285.html

There is another site avaiable, that has some infos in English:

http://www.historische-zeitmesser.de/fachartikel/fa_german_longcase_01.html

 

[op7881]

THANK YOU!!! I took another look at the inscription and I agree, now that I know what I'm looking at, it does look like "Franz Jakob Braun. There is also something very small and partially worn away at the very bottom, so now I'm wondering if that's a date. I checked out the web sites that you suggested. I had seen the one in English before, but not the one in German.

I have done some checking on antique clock repair here in Chicago and found one well recommended place. I'll have to start saving to try and someday get it working.

Thanks again for your info. I really appreciate knowing something about this.

 

[Tinker Dwight]

Hi
One wonders what happened to the movement. There seem to be
a number of broken pivots. Not impossible repairs. I don't see
either the crutch or the pallets. Are they missing? if so,
that would be too bad.
Tinker Dwight

 

[op7881]

Hi Dwight,
Thanks. Like I said -- I know next to nothing about it. I'm a woodworker and don't know anything at all about clock repair. I have no idea what the "crutch" or "pallets" are, but I don't think I have them. The works and parts live in a separate box. As far as I know, the only parts I have are the chain, two large weights and one small. Do those missing items make it impossible (or very expensive) to fix?

Thanks.

 

[Tinker Dwight]

Not impossible but not cheap either.
Any part for a clock can be made. If the clock
ran at one time it can run again.
I do think your clock is worth fixing but custom
machining is not cheap.
Tinker Dwight

 

[soaringjoy]

You might want to contact the NAWCC Chicagoland Chapter too:

http://community.nawcc.org/chapter3/home/

 

[NJ2FL]

Are you still looking for info on your clock. I have a Franz Jakob Braun tall case clock. You can have the missing spandrel cast. That is what I did. I be curious to know more about your clock or any info I can impart to you about mine.

 

[novicetimekeeper]

They were only here for a couple of weeks in 2012, so they may never see your post.

I nearly didn't look either when it said German grandfather clock but it was much more interesting than I thought.