History Kieninger strike problem

[glaze417]

Hello NAWCC Forum!

I am a clock enthusiast from Wisconsin and love the information and knowledge available on this forum. I previously received help with a cuckoo music box issue and return to the Forum for any assistance you might offer. Please help. I have a Kieninger 81 K movement that has been giving me problems.

Clock is marked 81 K 116cm with a sticker attached to right rear plate that reads 26, 9-8 (?)

The clock keeps great time and the chime side works perfectly. My issue is the strike side.

I just purchased from original owner who acquired it in 1983. I made the mistake of not seeing the clock strike before purchase. I got the clock home and while setting it up I noticed it would only strike once for the hour, no matter what hour it was set to. I was doing some reading on the Clockworks site and decided to take a closer look. I took the front face and dial off and restarted the clock. Runs nice and chime is working fine. However , NOW it appears the strike hammers don't even get close enough to the rods to produce a sound and again the hammers lift and drop only once, no matter the hour.. Tried many adjustments to no avail. Strike/silent and all the chime settings and silent. I can't get those hammers for strike working. I have many photos attached and will attempt to figure out video. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[glaze417]

video file is too large to be uploaded, will take shorter video soon

 

[Simon Holt]

Welcome to the forum.

The best way to show us a video is to upload it to YouTube, then post a link to it in this forum. That way, there is no limit to size.

The single strike may simply be due to the rack not falling on to the snail.

Simon

 

[Willie X]

The rack hook is not being lifted high enough to release the rack. This can be due to a bent long lever, or a worn C3F bushing, etc. Anything that prevents the necessary lifting of the long lever.
Note, the long lever is rooted on the chime side and goes all the way across to warn and release the strike. It operates off the bump on the chime sequence disc. Willie X

 

[NEW65]

For a quick fix eg if you don't want to pay to overhaul the mechanism, you could remove the chime count and gently beat out the brass with a light hammer ie., at highest point of the chime count (end of 4 x 4 chime), to enable increased lift of the long lever to operate the rack hook.
Good luck

 

[glaze417]

Here is a video, I will try to post a better one now that I have you tube account.

 

[shutterbug]

The rack is not dropping. Either the problem is as Willie stated above, or the gathering pallet is holding the rack in place. Can you show us a close-up of the gathering pallet? A still pic is probably OK.

 

[wow]

The rack is not dropping. Either the problem is as Willie stated above, or the gathering pallet is holding the rack in place. Can you show us a close-up of the gathering pallet? A still pic is probably OK.

Yes. We need a photo of the front when it is not chiming so we can see the position of the gathering pallet.

 

[glaze417]

another video and some pics...

 

[bkerr]

From what I can see in the video it looks like the strike is going into warning but maybe not early enough. Also the hammers look to be way far away from the chime rods. You need a bit of run in, double check that. fingers crossed

 

[TEACLOCKS]

The lever with the RED arrow is worn from the chime selector cam.
Look very at the underside you will see a notch worn in the lever.
Move the cam in or out so the cam is pushing on a new place on the lever.
Good luck

 

[NEW65]

Or, you could slightly bend the tab upwards that lifts the long lever. You may have to remove the lever to do this.

 

[Willie X]

And, while your at it, check for a worn pivot hole on the extended pivot that the chime sequence disk rides on. Wiggle it up and down. The bushing behind it is often badly worn, already mentioned in post #4.

Quick fixes are OK but if this pivot hole is worn, that's the real problem and needs to be addressed. Also, you can bet there are other worn out pivot holes, not just that one.

Willie X

 

[glaze417]

Thank you for the information and opinions. I will investigate the options presented.

 

[NEW65]

I always rebush the front chime count and chime stop pivots even if they don't need rebushing. I've seen the quarter chime fail many times over the years with minimal play in the count and stop cams and I've learnt my lesson not to omit these pivots now!

 

[glaze417]

Sounds like that's my only option. I just don't know if ill get the puzzle back together. But I have to start somewhere. There's a ton of info on the net about rebushing a movement , Any suggestions on best method or who's book to follow? I bought an industrial sized ultrasonic cleaner last year and have had luck with several mantel units and 2 cuckoo clocks, so the cleaning is doable. I plan to stat slow and go from there. I do have a wall unit that I may start on .

 

[shutterbug]

To me, it looks like your lever is jammed against the pin on the gathering pallet. That prevents it from activating the strike.

 

[glaze417]

I am continuing to work with the movement and have been moving slowly.