Hi all. A real estate developer friend of mine has purchased an old building (1908), which he'll be renting out for office space, and naturally one of the first things I did was climb up the clock tower to see what's up there. I was very pleased to find that it still has a purely mechanical movement, which appears to be in very good condition. Of course I immediately told my friend that under no circumstances is this going to be replaced with a Raspberry Pi. ;-)
I have taken numerous photos of the clock, which I have put into a photo album here:
We don't know when the clock was last running, but there is a relatively modern auto-wind system installed, so it probably has not been out of service for a great length of time. I notice that this auto-wind system seems "homemade", and doesn't match the configuration of any of the systems I have read about. This system (see photo album) consists of an electric motor, a control unit, and top and bottom switches about a metre apart on a mast next to the weight, which the weight itself will trigger.
I have no experience working with tower clocks, but I am generally quite capable working with tools and machines, so short of anything that truly requires an expert, I am comfortable with the idea of maintaining this clock.
I have a few questions I hope those of you with a lot more experience can perhaps address:

-kari
I have taken numerous photos of the clock, which I have put into a photo album here:
We don't know when the clock was last running, but there is a relatively modern auto-wind system installed, so it probably has not been out of service for a great length of time. I notice that this auto-wind system seems "homemade", and doesn't match the configuration of any of the systems I have read about. This system (see photo album) consists of an electric motor, a control unit, and top and bottom switches about a metre apart on a mast next to the weight, which the weight itself will trigger.
I have no experience working with tower clocks, but I am generally quite capable working with tools and machines, so short of anything that truly requires an expert, I am comfortable with the idea of maintaining this clock.
I have a few questions I hope those of you with a lot more experience can perhaps address:
- Who made this clock? I cannot find a manufacturer name, or any text whatever, anywhere on the movement.
- Does it look like it needs anything but a good cleaning and lubrication? To my inexperienced eyes, it looks in quite nice shape, just dirty and no doubt with very old oil.
- Any specific advice on cleaning and oiling this particular movement? I've read various documents about general maintenance, but if there is anything specific on this movement that isn't obvious, it would be good to know.
- Does this auto-wind system seem okay? I am a bit concerned since it appears to be a homemade system, and does not seem to have any means of noticing if the upper limit switch has been missed, which I expect could lead to catastrophic failure. (I certainly intend at the very least to verify that this system works properly before I consider leaving it to run on its own.)
-kari