Lantern pinions

[Nicko]

This lantern pinion had a couple of bent trundles after a main spring explosion. I bought a wire pack from Timesavers. The trundles are .040" and the wire in the pack contains .0385" or .045". I know that I can get .040" but I would like to get this one back together and running again. Should I use the .0385 or wait another 10 days or so for .040" wire.
The second picture shows the new .0385" wire in the trundle closest to you.

Should the trundles rotate? I believe they should but some don't. Is any lube require here?

Any ideas on the shape of the punch that I will need to make to close over the top of the holes. A narrow flat edge?

Cheers
Greg

 

[EmmaR]

why wait. go down the local hobby shop and get som 1mm piano wire. if you can get them tight the smaller wire will do fine, but if its loose, then they will eventually bend or break. I should think the reason this has happened is because the wires were loose in the barrel. would seriously look into using the 45 thousandths wire if it looks like it will still mesh together. your PCD will still be ok, but the wires may bottom out. need to see if there is some depth space and enough backlash. the wires should be tight and riveted in, then you wont get trouble next time hopefully.

hope this helps a little, *EM*

 

[R. Croswell]

Steven G. Conover's book "Clock Repair Skills" devotes a chapter to lanter pinion repair. It includes this illustration and a complete description about how to make and use the punch, and a bunch of other good stuff.

One thing he does not describe is how to tighten a loose lantern shroud on the arbor. Does anyone have any suggestions how to do that other than to make a new one?

Bob C.

 

[Tom Kloss]

Hi,

Nicko, EM's suggestion is a good one. Most hobby shops carry piano wire. It's also known as music wire. The nice part about it is that it is a very hard wire.

[colour=Blue]IMHO[colour=black], the trundles should rotate. By definition a trundle is a roller. No oil. If it were a customer's clock I would use .040 wire. With my own clock, I believe the .0385 wire would do in a pinch.

One thing he does not describe is how to tighten a loose lantern shroud on the arbor. Does anyone have any suggestions how to do that other than to make a new one?

Crosswelll, one thing you can do is to remover the loose shroud and, in the area that the shroud is mounted, knurl the arbor with the sharp edge of a file. Throw up a some burrs to tighten the shroud, if all else fails you can always use locktite.

Tom

[colour=blue]“Sometimes you really don’t know if your being rewarded or punished”[/colour]

 

[Nicko]

Thanks for the replies,

No hobby shops around here, in the back blocks of SA. We're a long way from any luxuries like that.
What I did in the end was make a D bit from the 45 thou wire, drill the holes out and use the 45 thou wire. Never made a D bit before, it probably gouges more than cut but it worked.
The lantern feels a lot better. There is plenty of clearance between the gears Emma, so no worries there.
I'll make that closing punch and close over the tops. The top of the lantern is not loose so no worries there.

Cheers
Greg

 

[EmmaR]

Aussie ingenuity hey!

thats great, sounds like it went well. is a good repair, and straight away.
and I guess if they were tight, then you would call them leaves instead!


*EMMA*

 

[R. Croswell]

Crosswelll, one thing you can do is to remover the loose shroud and, in the area that the shroud is mounted, knurl the arbor with the sharp edge of a file. Throw up a some burrs to tighten the shroud, if all else fails you can always use locktite.

Thanks Tom. Knurling the arbor sounds like a workable solution.

________________________

Greg,

I've read a lot of debate about wheather the trundels should roll or not. Generally, at least in common American clocks, it seems that some are designed to roll and others were fitted tignt at the factory. And many have not rolled in years even if they were once intended to roll. One thing is for sure, you either want all of them to roll or none of them to roll. If all the wear is on one side, then they don't (or have not recently) roll.

If yours are designed to roll, then you need to replace them with the exact size if you expect them to retain that action after the repair (or you will need to resize the holes as well). I agree with Tom, go with the 0.40 if you cant find an exact match. The wheel probably already has a little wear anyway, but you need to keep it pretty close to the original. Also, I usually replace all of the trundels at the same time. You definately don't want to just replace a couple with a larger size - they all need to be the same.

Bob C.

 

[harold bain]

Greg, if you have a micrometer, and a box full of old dull drill bits, see if you have one the right size. Drill rod is good in a pinch for lantern trundles, so save your broken bits.