something I have been putting off for a long while. No machining but starting on a Journey to understanding clocks. I have given myself a real challenge here.
That was a fascinating video Ade. I didn't realise how complex a clock mechanism was. We have two very old clocks. One was my parents, the other my wifes parents. Neither are in use now, but I don't think I would dare to take them apart. Good luck with the cleaning and lubricating. Cheers Nobby
Hello Ade, you’re at a good starting place because the clock has mainspring barrels. Thus it’s possible to relax stored energy just as you’ve done without further equipment. Many old clocks have open mainsprings which need to be captured with a restraint device of the proper size before the movement can be disassembled. 👍
It is a tough one to start on but I think I have figured it out to a degree . I have 4 badly worn holes in the plates so bushings to be done . oh what fun . Cheers Ade.
@@ade63dugbushings worn was my guess. I have a very similar clock, also a Smiths Westminster, with a similar issue, so I'm watching carefully and rooting for you, Ade!
Not a clock person but an old friend was and I know the wrong oil or excess lubeing is detrimental. He also said dont think clocks need tight tolerances, they need slack to work. H&S walsh or Cousins are the main suppliers of clock related items or visit your local watch and clock fair, if they are still running.
Love it Ade you are more daring then i would venture... i would use a degreaser and ultrasonic cleaning tank and dunk the whole thing in and use graphite powder as my lubricant.. you can always call Emma if you run into trouble lol...
Hi Aden, Hope you keep with the clock vids, I h a very an old grandfather clock that I purchased not running several years back and I took the movement out and soaked it in alcohol for a week adjetating it every day then soaked it in sewing machine oil for a couple days then hung it to drain, reinstalled and it ran for three years, it needs another cleaning now it collects dust.
Hi Ade. I inherited my dad’s Smiths clock. It suffered similar problems and ended up in my loft. Now you have me thinking I should dig it out and see if I too can get it up and running. Watching your progress with interest. Good luck. 🤞👍😀
My father got into building cases for clocks and bought several kits from Emperor Clock Company. I bought a Grandfather clock kit after my Grandfather died in 1981. There was a resurgence in interest in mechanical clocks in the late 70s through the 80s. I think it's probably been 30 years since I wound mine. I looked just now and Emperor doesn't have as many clocks as they used to. Nobody seems to want to bother with them anymore.
Speed regulator, I like that. Definitely accurate, though generally known as a governor in both ICE and steam engines (spinning balls or tangential weights) as well as music boxes (generally a fixed butterfly rather than centrifugally adaptive, though I believe at least one had an adaptive, possibly Polyphon but I may be wrong, to get maximum acceleration to the target speed) besides horology. Edit: 22:14 got there 😁
I agree it would be a good idea to clean it, but is the pendilumn swinging equally either side of vertical so the teeth on the escape wheel are not releasing on the one side as the pendilumn settles down after starting. Watching your vidio the works don't look horizontal so it might not be swinging evenly.
Yes you are correct. If you listen to the clock it is beating unevenly. dah- DUM, dah-DUM. This is caused by the pendulum not being adjusted correctly. Usually where the pendulum is suspended there is a crutch which is connected directly to the pallets on the escapement and it is friction fitted so it can be adjusted to regulate the beat in to giving an equal tick- tock sound. Once that is done it would probably run for the full eight days it's designed to do. Obviously a cleaning and oiling will be even better. ( incidentally I've only watched the first few minutes of the video of Ade starting it up and trying to get it to stop of its own accord and I immediately both heard and saw it was beating very unevenly. I'll watch the rest of the video now lol)
Timely presentation! I just finished fiddling with a clock mechanism for a belt feeder. I found it quite frustrating, almost all the pivots were worn and the mounting holes oval. The mechanism was probably worth $10 when it was made, but no longer available. How much work do you try in re-bushing and repairing shafts ?
The easiest thing in the world is to let the key slip when letting down the spring. You only do that once. It WILL rap your knuckles. It will fetch the skin off And it is quite painful. You need to watch more RU-vid to see what you need to make or buy.😅
Hi Ade. I couldn't help noticing that at 19:43 the gear to the extreme left ( the one with the cam on the end) has a bit of a runout on it. I dont want to pre-emp anything but could this be the guilty party?. Anyway , looking forward to the stripdown.
It’s just the suspension bar which the the pendulum hangs from it wants centring just lightly push the bar to one side until you get a nice tick on the clock
Yes .i did that and it now runs . due to all the muck I have taken it apart a fair bit and found 4 holes in the plates badly worn . 1 is about 1 mm so bushings to be done . thanks for the advice . Cheers Ade.
@georgefleetwood7740 is correct, the clock is out of beat; it doesn’t help that you keep moving it around with the pendulum on, that will do it. That and i5 does need a good clean. Let the power down on all 3 barrels before stripping or you’ll end up with an almighty bang and bits everywhere 😂.
