Urgos UW 32/1 Pendulum has a wobble

[Naif Baidoon]

I cleaned an oiled the UW 32/1 movement and replaced some bushings. The clock will run all day with just the leader attached but when I attach the pendulum it will run for about 10 minutes and stop. I believe it could be because the pendulum has a slight wobble to it. I have tried different suspension springs and played around with the crutch a bit. I don't know what else to try. Please take a look at the videos posted.
Thanks,
Naif Baidoon

Links for videos:
Running with Leader

Pendulum Wobble

 

[ChimeTime]

Your links don't seem to work.

 

[Willie X]

A pendulum wobble won't stop a clock that's in good condition. It will run right on with a wobbling pendulum. But a wobble will deduct from the pendulum's amplitude. So, if the clock is barely running, a wobble CAN make it stop. 90% of the time a new suspension will cure the wobble. If it doesn't, something is usually misaligned somewhere at the leader, or crutch, or both. Willie X

 

[wow]

I cleaned an oiled the UW 32/1 movement and replaced some bushings. The clock will run all day with just the leader attached but when I attach the pendulum it will run for about 10 minutes and stop. I believe it could be because the pendulum has a slight wobble to it. I have tried different suspension springs and played around with the crutch a bit. I don't know what else to try. Please take a look at the videos posted.
Thanks,
Naif Baidoon

Links for videos:
Running with Leader

Pendulum Wobble

Videos won’t open. Please upload to youtube and then post here.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

The links work if you right click on them and then open them in a new window.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

A pendulum wobble won't stop a clock that's in good condition. It will run right on with a wobbling pendulum. But a wobble will deduct from the pendulum's amplitude. So, if the clock is barely running, a wobble CAN make it stop. 90% of the time a new suspension will cure the wobble. If it doesn't, something is usually misaligned somewhere at the leader, or crutch, or both. Willie X

Thanks Willie, I will keep at it a little longer.

 

[Joe Somebody]

Your leader is bent. It should hang straight down from the suspension spring.

 

[Willie X]

Joe is correct and that may be yer problem there ...

But don't make it flat. The leader is supposed to have a slight (maybe 2mm) offset/dog leg, between the top hook and the crutch fork. However, both the top and bottom straight portions should be parallel. Hold a straightedge against the upper part and bend the lower part until it's parallel to the straight edge. The little offset/dogleg should remain.

Note, when you make that gigantic over-swing of the pendulum, it's putting a lot of strain on the escapement parts. Trouble will be forthcoming!

Willie X

 

[NEW65]

The suspension spring must be tight in the chops (where the spring enters the groove at the top). Any play there will cause wobble in the disc . I tend to close the chops up a little using pliers and then push the spring snugly in position , opening the chops slightly with a screw driver to help locate/align the spring.
It’s amazing how much difference this makes especially when it comes to the large pendulums used on the MSU movements and 1171’s.
Good luck

 

[Joe Somebody]

Thanks for explaining it better than I could Willy and News!

 

[wow]

One other thing to check is the crutch pin. The leader should hang down through the center of the pin on the crutch. Yours looks (hard to see) like the crutch may be touching the back side of the leader. That will stop the clock. If it is, bend the crutch arm slightly back toward the plate.

 

[Willie X]

Joe,
You get full credit.
I just wanted the OP to leave that little factory offset. Some have that and some don't. I think that offset is there to make the whole pendulum assembly hang exactly in line with the center of the lower suspension spring pin.
WIllie X

 

[Naif Baidoon]

The suspension spring must be tight in the chops (where the spring enters the groove at the top). Any play there will cause wobble in the disc . I tend to close the chops up a little using pliers and then push the spring snugly in position , opening the chops slightly if you to do with a screw driver to help locate/align the spring.
It’s amazing how much difference this makes especially when it comes to the large pendulums used on the MSU movements and 1171’s.
Good luck

Are you referring to Michigan State University when you referred to MSU? What are 1171 movements ?

 

[Naif Baidoon]

Are you referring to Michigan State University when you referred to MSU? What are 1171 movements ?

I will give your suggestion a try tomorrow. I believe you are on to a possible fix of the problem.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

One other thing to check is the crutch pin. The leader should hang down through the center of the pin on the crutch. Yours looks (hard to see) like the crutch may be touching the back side of the leader. That will stop the clock. If it is, bend the crutch arm slightly back toward the plate.

Thanks for the info. I will double check this tomorrow.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

i straighten out the leader and adjusted it so that the suspension spring sits in there tight. This all helped eliminate the wobble but the clock still stops. I am not sure about the suspension spring I am trying to use I have tried several different ones but none have made a big difference.
I am going to call Merritt's tomorrow to see if they can help me out with selecting one to use. Hard to believe there is not a source to turn to about sizing suspension springs.

 

[wow]

i straighten out the leader and adjusted it so that the suspension spring sits in there tight. This all helped eliminate the wobble but the clock still stops. I am not sure about the suspension spring I am trying to use I have tried several different ones but none have made a big difference.
I am going to call Merritt's tomorrow to see if they can help me out with selecting one to use. Hard to believe there is not a source to turn to about sizing suspension springs.

I don’t think your problem is the suspension spring. In the first video with the pendulum on, the crutch looks like it is touching the leader. The crutch must be bent back toward the plate so the leader hangs through the leader slot without binding against the back or front of the slot. Did you check that and correct it?

 

[Naif Baidoon]

I don’t think your problem is the suspension spring. In the first video with the pendulum on, the crutch looks like it is touching the leader. The crutch must be bent back toward the plate so the leader hangs through the leader slot without binding against the back or front of the slot. Did you check that and correct it?

I turned the leader around made more sense to hang it this way. I will post some pictures.

 

[wow]

I turned the leader around made more sense to hang it this way. I will post some pictures.

View attachment 692377 View attachment 692378

Looks right. It should run if in beat. Is it running now?

 

[Willie X]

Your leader is now on backwards. The pendulum should hang on from the front.

Looks like you need to remove the stick from your bob and rotate it 180°. It has a front and back also. The split side of the top hook goes to the back.

Willie X

 

[wow]

Yep, but the crutch is straight now.

 

[bruce linde]

running with just the leader tells you nothing… some movements will, some won’t.

I don’t see the leader hitting the back of the crutch… but it does look too tight. there needs to be a little slop.

you need to check the usual suspects:

1. suspension spring snug in chops/bridge
2. in beat… it is when you do your initial too big swing, but when it settles down it isn’t. that, and too tight crutch forks can both be showstoppers
3. pendulum swings perfectly with no wobble with crutch removed… if there’s still a wobble, try a different suspension spring. if they pendulum doesn’t swing perfectly parallel to movement plates, adjust the little hanger pieces at the top until it does.
4. leader not too tight in crutch… need a little slop
5. when starting the pendulum swinging, give just enough of a push to get it going

 

[Naif Baidoon]

Your leader is now on backwards. The pendulum should hang on from the front.

Looks like you need to remove the stick from your bob and rotate it 180°. It has a front and back also. The split side of the top hook goes to the back.

Willie X

Thanks Willie, I will switch them around.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

running with just the leader tells you nothing… some movements will, some won’t.

I don’t see the leader hitting the back of the crutch… but it does look too tight. there needs to be a little slop.

you need to check the usual suspects:

1. suspension spring snug in chops/bridge
2. in beat… it is when you do your initial too big swing, but when it settles down it isn’t. that, and too tight crutch forks can both be showstoppers
3. pendulum swings perfectly with no wobble with crutch removed… if there’s still a wobble, try a different suspension spring. if they pendulum doesn’t swing perfectly parallel to movement plates, adjust the little hanger pieces at the top until it does.
4. leader not too tight in crutch… need a little slop
5. when starting the pendulum swinging, give just enough of a push to get it going

Thanks, I will check these things out.

 

[bruce linde]

Thanks, I will check these things out.

can't tell you how many times i've opened up a crutch a molecule or two and a movement started running reliably.

hope it's as simple as that,
keep us posted.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

I broke the leader, project on hold till I find another.

 

[Naif Baidoon]

I located another leader on eBay but I picked up a leader with another movement for just a couple bucks more. It also had a suspension spring on it but was missing a few parts from the chime mechanism that was located on the face of the movement. Just for the heck of it I cleaned it up oiled it and it ran even with the wobble from the pendulum. I took the chime parts from my original movement and attached them to the newly acquired movement. I turned the hanger for the pendulum around and its been running without flaw for about a week.
I know its cheating but I am going to install the new movement in the case. Someday I will come back to try to figure out why the other one would not run. I don't think it was all about the pendulum and leader.
Doing these clock repairs can be so frustrating and enjoyable, just a few moments can swing your mood from one extreme to the next.
Thank you for all the feedback its always a big help.