overwound wall clock

Brie

Hey there

we have, unfortunately, overwound our wall clock.  it's one of the old fashioned things with 2 springs to be wound, one for the clock and one for the chimes, and has a pendulum.  I'm thinking that if we give the pendulum a nudge every time we walk by it will eventually unwind a bit and start to work again.  Or are we doomed to finding a proper clockmaker shop to give it an overhaul.  Last time we checked on this I think the price for cleaning & oiling the works was £500 which is a bit steep!!

ThisIsWeird

That is what I was going to suggest - does it 'tick' when you swing the pendulum? Can you see the escapement cog tock each time? If so, very good chance this will sort it.

Not sure I know what happens when a clock is 'overwound'. Is it that the spring coils stick to eachother as they are pulled too tight?

theoretica

Most often it means the clock just happened to be fully wound when it stopped and it needs servicing and maintaining - when did it last have any?  Nudging the pendulum may get it running for a little while, but is very unlikely it will be happy in the long term.

subjecttocontract

Brie said:

Hey there

we have, unfortunately, overwound our wall clock.  it's one of the old fashioned things with 2 springs to be wound, one for the clock and one for the chimes, and has a pendulum.  I'm thinking that if we give the pendulum a nudge every time we walk by it will eventually unwind a bit and start to work again.  Or are we doomed to finding a proper clockmaker shop to give it an overhaul.  Last time we checked on this I think the price for cleaning & oiling the works was £500 which is a bit steep!!

What you are suggesting is exactly what we did, nudge the pendulum every time it stops. We found this unwound the clock and eventually it ran unassisted. No harm seems to have occoured and it's been running for about 3 months. Try it you've got nothing to loose.

twopenny

No this won't this didn't  work for me.  Been there, done that for more than one clock 

I found someone first time, selling clocks and watches at an anntiques and collectibles fair. He did business locally and a regular there.

Second was a local again. In a small craft place. He fixed my pendulum cottage clock that hadn't worked for a generation and the alarm too. Dirt, wear etc 
He sent it back not jut fixed but gleamng brasswork and polished.

If they are regular somewhere then they must be reliable or they wouldn't show their face again :-)

Cost for each clock £30-60 about 6yrs ago.
If they have to come and take the mechanism out and return to balance it it will be more. Ie long case clock, Vienna or wall clock. The first two need balancing.
Good luck.

Simonon77

If you are quite handy, there will be a ratchet that holds the spring tension ( each time the pendulum swings, it will move the ratchet one tooth on the cog and slightly unwind the spring ). If you very gently lever back the ratchet then it will let all the tension out of the spring, and you can wind it up as normal.

Other than this you can waggle the pendulum loads of times which will have the same effect.

£500 may seem a lot, but working on 'proper' clock movements is a dying art now, and not many people can do it ( My grandfather was a watchmaker ) 

Simonon77

This may help as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vCA5-lFc1g

Section62

Simonon77 said:

If you very gently lever back the ratchet then it will let all the tension out of the spring, and you can wind it up as normal.

Levering any part of a clock mechanism, however gently, is a good way of doing permanent damage to it.  As is an uncontrolled release of the energy stored in the spring.

Giving the pendulum a regular nudge is a safest way of dealing with the problem, even though it may take some effort and time to get there.

If the pendulum is of the removable type then temporarily removing it may (if done with great care) assist in the process of unbinding the spring.  The pendulum acts as a regulator/governor which provides resistance to the mechanism. When a clock is overwound the amount of torque the spring can supply isn't sufficient to overcome the internal friction in the spring on top of the resistance of the mechanism.  Therefore reducing the resistance (by removing the pendulum) can sometimes help get the spring unbound quicker... but must be done with great caution. It allows a more controlled release of the energy stored in the spring.

twopenny

I was told with mine that the rachet wheel thingy gets tiny bits of metal chaffed as it works over a long period so that it doesn't catch right with time.
It can be repaired with filing it gently to remove the spurs. A job for someone who knows what they are doing and one of those eye glass thingies.

Brie

Thanks all.  We'll keep nudging it for the time being.

It would be good to get it serviced.  It's a lovely thing, not old, just old fashioned.  about 30? inches high wooden case with a nice plain face and a glass door that should show the pendulum going back and forth.  Not a loud tick normally just a slight one that can be heard if you are near by.  (my mom has a honking big grandfather that ticks loudly enough to be heard through more than 1 closed door.)

And it's never been serviced or cleaned.  And it was purchased by us with insurance money following a robbery about 20 years back so no doubt full of dust, grime and (probably) cat hair.  I'll check again around the area for specialists.

Simonon77

Section62 said:

Simonon77 said:

If you very gently lever back the ratchet then it will let all the tension out of the spring, and you can wind it up as normal.

Levering any part of a clock mechanism, however gently, is a good way of doing permanent damage to it.  As is an uncontrolled release of the energy stored in the spring.

Giving the pendulum a regular nudge is a safest way of dealing with the problem, even though it may take some effort and time to get there.

If the pendulum is of the removable type then temporarily removing it may (if done with great care) assist in the process of unbinding the spring.  The pendulum acts as a regulator/governor which provides resistance to the mechanism. When a clock is overwound the amount of torque the spring can supply isn't sufficient to overcome the internal friction in the spring on top of the resistance of the mechanism.  Therefore reducing the resistance (by removing the pendulum) can sometimes help get the spring unbound quicker... but must be done with great caution. It allows a more controlled release of the energy stored in the spring.

The ratchet is on a pivot held by a spring. It is designed to move so can be levered back without damaging anything. You can also use the key in the winding mechanism to slowly release the spring tension.

When you are working on a clock movement and need to release the spring tension you don't spend hours releasing it.