My first post and first clock.

[Cleo’s Dad]

Hi folks. This is my first post and my first clock. I used to enjoy hearing my aunty’s mantel clock chime when I was a boy. I’m in a nostalgic mood these days. It started with DVDs of programs I enjoyed when I was a boy, like “Robinson Crusoe” and “Tom Grattan’s War”. I noticed the lovely oil lamps they had and got one from eBay. Then I saw a grandfather clock and mantel clock, so here I am with a 1930s clock marked ‘foreign ‘. The hammers were knocked out of whack, well two of them were. The two nearest the door were stuck above the bar that the rods emerge from and couldn’t strike the rods. I’ve fixed them now by undoing the two screws under the clock to adjust the rods and now they sound ok. The winding arbours are difficult to wind up. I am currently trying to slow the clock a wee bit and it’s taking longer than I thought it would. Anyway, it’s not too bad for £30 I think.

 

[Micam100]

The winding arbours are difficult to wind up

Hello Cleo’s Dad, Welcome.

When you say the arbors are hard to wind, do you mean they were wound down and are tight when you rewind or were they tight when you got the clock? If tight when you got it, a lot of old clocks have stopped due to wear and dirt and people wind them and they stay fully wound.

If they were wound down and are stiff when you rewind them it could be dried up oil and gunk on the springs or wheel teeth binding due to wear.

If you are mechanically minded, your nostalgic mood may have led you to a new and addictive hobby. Unless you know the clock has been recently serviced, it probably needs it. That will involve dismantling the movement, cleaning and correcting any wear. Three train clocks are not the ideal movement to learn on, but not as hard as some will tell you. Plenty of help here if you want to go down that road…or you could pick up a junk clock to practice on.

“Foreign” because at one time it was a UK legislative requirement that imported or partly imported clocks had to be identifiable as such.

Michael

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

Hello Cleo’s Dad, Welcome.

When you say the arbors are hard to wind, do you mean they were wound down and are tight when you rewind or were they tight when you got the clock? If tight when you got it, a lot of old clocks have stopped due to wear and dirt and people wind them and they stay fully wound.

If they were wound down and are stiff when you rewind them it could be dried up oil and gunk on the springs or wheel teeth binding due to wear.

If you are mechanically minded, your nostalgic mood may have led you to a new and addictive hobby. Unless you know the clock has been recently serviced, it probably needs it. That will involve dismantling the movement, cleaning and correcting any wear. Three train clocks are not the ideal movement to learn on, but not as hard as some will tell you. Plenty of help here if you want to go down that road…or you could pick up a junk clock to practice on.

“Foreign” because at one time it was a UK legislative requirement that imported or partly imported clocks had to be identifiable as such.

Michael

Hi,
the arbours were tight when I got the clock. I assumed the guy who sold it to me, had wound it. I did wait a couple of days then it was a bit easier, the arbours are a little off centre from the hole and the right hand arbour a bit more off. I have to put the key in at a downward angle on the right hand arbour.
A guy on you tube was showing one of his clocks being easy to wind up and he was saying that another one he has, was really difficult to wind. I looked for his other video he mentioned about the clock that was difficult but couldn’t find it. His difficult clock he said was an Elite if that rings a bell.
i don’t think I’m confident enough to tackle taking the clock apart to clean and oil it and don’t think it’s worth the expense of paying to have it done since it only cost £30. I don’t know if it’s an 8day or whatever so maybe I should let it unwind for a few days to see if that makes winding it easier.

 

[Micam100]

It will be 8 day so yep, let it run and wind it every 7 days.

I see you have a stack of coins under one end indicating it’s out of beat. Pretty easy to correct that. Have a look at this link. https://mb.nawcc.org/wiki/Beat-Setting-101

In short, push the crutch towards the high side (coin side) until the sound of the tick and the tock are evenly spaced. It should be a friction fit on the arbor it is attached to and should slip without too much force.

So, stop the clock, remove coins, push the crutch a little, give the pendulum a nudge to restart and listen to the beat. Make small increments (and back up if you move too far) until you get a nice even tick tock.

I’m a bit concerned that, in your photo, the winding arbors don’t line up well with the holes in the face. If you post a clear, sharp photo of the back of the movement, and maybe a better photo of the entire dial with the glass open, someone may have an idea of what’s going on there.

I like the case.

Michael

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

Hi,
I should have said, the coins are no longer there. I got the instructions to centre the crutch off you tube which was much easier than I thought it would be so it let me concentrate on getting the time right by lowering the bob on the pendulum. I hope the photos are ok. The inside looks a bit grubby right enough, not helped by someone using WD40 at some point. It was the first thing I noticed about it when I took it out of the box! the left hand arbour doesn’t feel off when I put the key in. The centre arbour feels only a little off, but the right hand one is the worst of the three.

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

By the way, I apologise for my manners. Thank you for the welcome.

 

[jmclaugh]

It looks 1930s or so. It is possible the dial isn't original as unless the winding arbors are bent they should all line up with all the holes to allow the key to fit over them properly. If no arbors are bent you could widen the holes so the key fits properly. I imagine the movement is German.

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

It looks 1930s or so. It is possible the dial isn't original as unless the winding arbors are bent they should all line up with all the holes to allow the key to fit over them properly. If no arbors are bent you could widen the holes so the key fits properly. I imagine the movement is German.

It was indeed advertised as 1930s. I did think of widening the hole under the number 3 at least. It seems to be keeping good time now so far though.

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

The winding shafts not lining up could be because the clamps that screw to the case to hold the clock movement in, have shifted. The movement needs to be taken out and these adjusted a little and tightened so that they can't move when the key is turned.
They should have two screws each instead of one as this stops them from shifting.

There was one screw rolling around inside the case when I got it, so this may have been what happened right enough. One of the two screws/bolts that hold the chime bars unit had a mark next to it and its washer that showed it had been shifted, so that accounts for why two of the hammers were stuck above it and couldn’t reach the chime bars. I fixed that and it sounds great now. I think I’ll treat this clock as something to enjoy as my first clock until I can get a better one from a more reliable source when funds allow. Then I’ll sell this one as “for repair”.

 

[Micam100]

I did think of widening the hole under the number 3 at least.

As Roughbarked said, the movement has lived up to its name and moved. It needs to come up on the right hand side. If you enlarge the holes, you may detract from its value.

Michael

 

[Jessk09]

That “Foreign” stamp on the movt. means that it was exported to the London area. Looks kinda like an Enfeild shelf clock

 

[new2clocks]

That “Foreign” stamp on the movt. means that it was exported to the London area. Looks kinda like an Enfeild shelf clock

Foreign indicates exported to the UK, not just London.

Regards.

 

[svenedin]

I serviced a clock for a friend a few years back that was exactly the same as yours. I assumed it was German. The clock I worked on was extremely worn. It needed extensive bushing work which is beyond my ability

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

I’m a bit hesitant to tinker too much with the clock because the novelty hasn’t worn off enough for me to risk messing it up. My wife went on to Amazon and bought me a book (shown below) but I don’t know if it will be suitable for a beginner like me. But it might encourage me to give it a go, so I might clean my clock yet some day.

Some of the chimes have been ok but slightly muffled as the hammers were slightly touching the bars, but last night I finally got them all sounding clear with that zing at the end by bending the hammers so they are an eighth of an inch off the bars at resting. I’m absolutely loving it!

 

[P.Hageman]

Welcome aboard Cleo's Dad. When the clock virus grabs you, it grabs you firm So enjoy it!

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

Welcome aboard Cleo's Dad. When the clock virus grabs you, it grabs you firm So enjoy it!

Thanks!

 

[Armando Alcaraz]

That is a very lovely clock for being your 1st. Careful that you don't catch the bug and have to make up fibs that you are "Fixing It" for a friend. I have loved watches and clocks my entire life. I bought my very 1st longcase or Grandfather clock as a gift to myself. Prior to that, and since then, I have bought, sold, traded and even gifted watches and clocks. Enjoy!!

 

[Cleo’s Dad]

That is a very lovely clock for being your 1st. Careful that you don't catch the bug and have to make up fibs that you are "Fixing It" for a friend. I have loved watches and clocks my entire life. I bought my very 1st longcase or Grandfather clock as a gift to myself. Prior to that, and since then, I have bought, sold, traded and even gifted watches and clocks. Enjoy!!

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Very nice grandfather clock. Just before I bought my mantle clock, wifiekins caught me measuring where a grandfather clock that I was looking at, would come up to in the living room lol. She looked a bit puzzled until she saw the advert I was reading the sizes off. Since she’s bought me my first book on the subject, it looks like she’s encouraging me.

 

[sundance creek]

One can manually jiggle the movement to see if it does go back into line. Some pencil marks may help to line it all back up but if they have moved the nuts that hold them tightly to the plate have been loosened. So the movement must come out so that they can be retightened.

I have a clock on my wall that the shafts dont align with the keyholes, also.

I havent touched a clock in 20 yrs, til last week.

the wall clock will be taken down and hopefully the wayward screws are there.

I am slowly re-learning all I have orgotten.

I pict this up and it will be delivered to me at easter.

the price was right

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