Wooden movement re- assembly

[Watchie Logan]

Replacing the escape wheel in a Hotchkiss 30 hour clock. I have a parts clock with a Henry Smith movement. My question is, are there any tips or tricks to line up all the gears so the top plate will fit easier when re-assembling?

 

[Jim DuBois]

The easiest way to reassemble I have found is to put all the wheels and pinions and levers into the front plate and then drop on the back plate and drop in the rear pivots one at a time of course, from large to small. It is helpful to use rubber bands around the plates so as to keep just a bit of pressure on and keep the pivots in place as assembly progresses. It is also quite useful to position all the wheels in the strike train in a timing sequence, keeping them in place with rubber bands and cutting the rubber bands off/out when the assembly is done. There are people who make assembling one of these look quite easy. Maybe assembling one in a minute or less. That is not me. The photo is by RC, who offers great advice on WW clocks.

 

[Watchie Logan]

The easiest way to reassemble I have found is to put all the wheels and pinions and levers into the front plate and then drop on the back plate and drop in the rear pivots one at a time of course, from large to small. It is helpful to use rubber bands around the plates so as to keep just a bit of pressure on and keep the pivots in place as assembly progresses. It is also quite useful to position all the wheels in the strike train in a timing sequence, keeping them in place with rubber bands and cutting the rubber bands off/out when the assembly is done. There are people who make assembling one of these look quite easy. Maybe assembling one in a minute or less. That is not me. The photo is by RC, who offers great advice on WW clocks.

View attachment 742317

Thanks for the tips, I'll give it a try.