Seth Thomas 89 rack and snail

[Bruce Alexander]

If (or when) it starts to misbehave again, please link to another YouTube Video showing a well lit view of the Maintenance and Lock action. Just looking at the "dancing" Rack Hook in your first video seemed to be a pretty clear indication of a maintenance/lock issue. If we can get that issue clearly resolved, and the problem returns again, my best guess at this point would be that something is loose or perhaps worn.

 

[ahemsley]

check the lever that rides on the maintenance cam if it has groove worn in it that will sometimes cause a run on check the maintenance cam that the stop slot is not worn at an angle should a right angle before it meets up with the curve the leads to the edge where lever rides

Will do, I'm pretty sure the right angle is OK. Will check the lever as well.

 

[shutterbug]

The mainspring lurching like that could be caused by a gummy or sticking spring. If it were, the coils would cling to each other, stealing power until they suddenly pop apart. That could also delay the strike and cause issues. However, the snail should catch up in time.

 

[ahemsley]

If (or when) it starts to misbehave again, please link to another YouTube Video showing a well lit view of the Maintenance and Lock action. Just looking at the "dancing" Rack Hook in your first video seemed to be a pretty clear indication of a maintenance/lock issue. If we can get that issue clearly resolved, and the problem returns again, my best guess at this point would be that something is loose or perhaps worn.

 

[ahemsley]

Extreme frustration led me to take a break from this clock, but I'm still plugging away. I've returned to it after learning a bit more from a simpler snail on another clock. Since I have a spare parts ST 89L movement, I decided to take a shot at GP removal and realignment. This led me to better see where hang-ups with the rack were occurring. I got the GP aligned and fixed in place. Got the snail grooves aligned and the pin always falls centrally into the deep grooves now. The clock is striking and Bim-bam-ing as it should (correct number of BBs for 15, 30 and 45 min. intervals). The one issue that I still have is that sometimes, but not always, the rack hook remains under the rack when the clock is already in warning. I'm contemplating filing a bit off it. Oiling the levers (which I thought was a no-no) seemed to allow less rack hook sticking, so does thumping the table the clock rests on, but that's not a viable option!