[note- there are three springs, if you don't want on the hourly gongs the middle one is not wound up]
I bought it last week and have been doing other things since, (trying to get the lawnmower to run, and er, going on the internet..)
I think it was a mark of the lack of enthusiasm with the purchase in fact; nothing special, I've got better, took it just because ... but in fact, when I picked it up out the front room to inspect and work on, I began to realise I'd found a very nice clock.
It didn't have the winder key (not in case when I bought it) but the first one I tried from another wall clock I have matched. It was already fairly wound up, so I attached the pendulum, set the clock level, and watched.
The pendulum would swing for 45 seconds, a bit more, a bit less, but then always stop.
I began to clean cobwebs and bits of fluff from the mechanism. As it was out of the case I cleaned the case, and the glass, and made a fukc up with the lower glass as I point out in the clip ... It could have been a lot worse if I'd 'dried' the glass with the paper. The glass in front of the face is convex, beautifully formed to bulge out.
Still no progress with the mechanism, I applied a drop of oil to the backside plate of all the spindles. I unwound all 3 coiled spring mechanisms by holding the key in the wind mech on the face and using a flat screwdriver, lifting the brake from the respective cog. Care is needed here or the spring will uncoil in an instant and possibly snap or come unseated within the barrel. And that's a big job to sort out. Possibly new coil spring, and not easy to do unless you have the right tools.
I unwound and rewound a few times, but still no good.
I decided to break out the petrol and small artist's paintbrush and go over the main cogs to remove any junk. It all looked clean enough, but eveidently it wasn't as the petrol worked a treat, as the clock sprang into life, and stayed that way.
I adjusted the hammers so they would strike cleanly, and then sat back last night and noted the time every 15 mintues.
The clock was made in the 1930s or the 1950s, pre-war, or post. There maybe a mark, but i've not thought to look for it. It is great quality. Sort of the culmination of hundreds of years of clockmaking in this region - all the savoir faire of horlogeire (clock-making) went into this. A real work of precision engineering, and taste! (sound of chimes, look)
The work that went into making it,.. and it's something that today no one wants, and it sat in a junk shop with a 5 euro price tag. Great!, profit en, as they say here (take advantage).
Definitely the best clock in my smallish collection, and one I'll keep, as it really is, a great clock!
16 сен 2024
