And while it's stripped it would be a good time to consider a full service if the movement has not been overhauled within the past five years. If it's broken at one end, it can sometimes be repaired but many springs usually cost less than £20 (although fitting will cost twice that and more, unless it's a German movement). Call me (or go and see an horologist local to you) for a repair quote. One slip and the spring could slash your hands so please don't attempt it. Apart from usually having to dismantle the movement completely, you'll need to open the barrel, remove the broken spring, measure it to ensure you get a replacement of the correct strength and then de-grease it, re-grease it and worst of all, fit it. If it's housed in a barrel then no harm is likely to have been caused but replacing a mainspring is not something for the amateur to attempt. If your clock suddenly makes a loud unexpected bang and stops, and you then find that there is no resistance when you try to wind it up, the mainspring has either broken or come off the winding arbor.See my March 2011 blog for a story about this. It's a water repellant not a lubricant and contains chemicals that don't mix well with brass, oil and grease. Finally, avoid WD40 like the plague! Ask any horologist about the number of clocks he sees drenched in WD40. See my separate page on Intermediate Oiling. That said, the tiniest touch of oil on the pallets will help lubricate the tips of the escape wheel but better to have it properly cleaned first and then oiled by an horologist. Sewing machine oil is thinner but if you must, use it sparingly on the tip of a needle and only on the pivots, but never on the wheels or pinions - they don't need oil. I once received a movement literally dripping oil - it looked like it had been plunged in a bath of Duckhams.
So if your clock is struggling to run, never be tempted to use ordinary 3-in-one oil - it's much too thick (viscous) and you'll just make matters worse - the additional drag of thick 3-in-one oil will stop almost any clock, so a clock that was already giving trouble is bound to stop. I am often asked " Can I oil my own clock?" Of course, but clock oil is special even different parts of the same clock require different oils.In ten years, a grandfather clock will tick over 300 million times, a typical dial clock over 750 million times and a carriage clock even more than that! So they don't have as easy a life as you might think. I'd say a clock needs servicing as soon as it starts playing up, or every ten years, whichever comes first, and that it needs oiling at least once every five years. Some repairers will say every three years but this reminds be of the Profumo court case in 1963 and Mandy Rice-Davies' famous testimony " Well, he would (say that), wouldn't he".
Amongst other things, it depends on the type of clock, the environment in which it works, the quality of the oil used, the age and condition when acquired, and the standard of previous repair work.
Many of them are good salesmen but don't understand the science of clocks they simply contract repairs out to specialists so they may see these tips as depriving them of their margins. Please don't be shy about clicking on the FB Like button if something helps you.īear in mind that these tips could save you a lot in repair costs, so don't be surprised if your local retailer does not approve of what I say. So here, I list some simple tips for owners of faulty antique clocks. Judging from the problems I've seen over the years, what sometimes seems pretty obvious to me as an enthusiastic hobbyist repairing clock movements, is evidently not always so obvious to others.