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elle_emme_

Can anyone help me with my Grandfather clock - issue?

Elle.Emme
9 years ago

We have a Grandfather clock that keeps perfect time, but, always chimes two hours less than the actual time. I would really appreciate any help on this!

Elle

Comments (5)

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    9 years ago

    Have you tried stopping it and moving the hour hand back to match the chime? Never turn the minute hand backwards, but you can move the hour hand (according to the clock man who took care of my grandparents'/then parents' 19th c. clock for 50 years).

    Edited to add that your best bet is always to get a clock maker/repairer in to look at it. :)

    This post was edited by cyn427 on Sun, Oct 5, 14 at 11:37

  • jemdandy
    9 years ago

    Method 1.

    You may have to loosen the hour hand before it will slip on its shaft.

    But first, carefully examine the minute hand at the hub. If it has a flat or other orentation detail, it can be removed and then put back on keeping its registration with respect to its shaft. Before removal, keep track of which side of the hand is toward the face. Likely, it can be put on either side up, but one side may give better registration, therefore it is advised to keep track of which side is toward the clock face.

    To adjust the hour hand, first rotate the minute hand clockwise stopping just as it trips to strike the hour and stop the clock. Note which hour chimed. Removal of the minute hand will make it easier to work on the hour hand. Loosen the hour hand and move it to the correct hour, then push it back on. Reassemble the minute hand and test for interference of the hands by moving the minute hand clockwise. If the hands interfere with each other, then adjust accordingly.

    Method 2.

    On old weight driven clocks, there may be another way to synchronize the hour hand with the chime drive. Some of these provided a small wire that hung behind the face and ended a short distance below the face board. Pulling (or pushing) on this wire will trip the striker mechanism causing it to activate. Each cycle of trip plus chiming advances the strike wheel one hour. Eventually, it will catch up with the position of the hour hand.

  • nhb22
    9 years ago

    I have an issue with my Grandfather clock losing time. It keeps falling behind the real time. It just struck 4:00 and it is actually 4:15. I cannot figure out why. My clock guy passed away a few years ago, and this is the first time we have had a problem with it since he worked on it about 9 years ago.

  • jemdandy
    9 years ago

    Your pendulum weight is out of adjustment. There should be a nut at the bottom of the pendulum bob weight. The weight rests on this nut. To speed up the pendulum, raise the weight by turning the nut; To slow the pendulum, lower the weight. If you are loosing 2 minutes per month, it may require one to two turns of the nut to correct.

    The adjustment is a trial and error procedure. Keep adjusting until it is right. Shorten the pendulum a bit and then observe the change for one day. A difference can be seen in shorter time intervals when the clock is considerably our of adjustment. I use a digital watch, one that I know its accuracy, and can make rough adjustments in periods as short as an hour. Longer time periods are needed as the adjustment gets nearer to the correct point.

    Careful:

    Be careful when adjusting the pendulum. Many of these old clocks have flexural pivots: The pendulum may be suspended by a thin flexible strip of metal (at the top end). This thin piece can be damaged if undue force is applied to it. When adjusting the weight nut, use care not to pull on the pendulum. The weight may hang on the pendulum rod from a hook at the end of the rod. You can lift the weight off the pendulum for adjusting if you wish.

    One other point: Temperature sensitivity.

    If your pendulum is not "temperature compensated", there will be a small change with temperatrure. Typically, it will gain about 1 to 2 minutes a month in winter and loose a minute a month during midsummer depending on the average temperature of the clock.

    How do you tell if you have a temperature compensated pendulum.

    A plain pendulum made of a single rod is likely not compensated. Compensation is done by using dissimilar metals with different thermal expansions, often brass and steel. Brass expands more than steel. The pendulum consists of a steel rod that desends to near the bottom end and then brass rods asend upward with another steel rod that descends to the bob weight. A properly constructed pendulum can be very accurate keeping time to a few seconds a month.

    Transporting or moving a clock.

    The pendulum weight should always be removed when a clock is to transported or moved. This is done to protect the fragile flex pivot and the verge, a wire form that fits over the pendulum and operates the escapement mechanism. The verge is adjusted by bending and can be bent out of adjustment if the pendulum is allowed to move beyond a limit point. Therefore, it is advisable to immobilze the pendulum for any move that requires tipping the clock case.

  • nhb22
    9 years ago

    Thank you. I found the nut and gave it a turn. Had to readjust the time, as it was off again by 8 minutes. I believe that I adjusted the time on Saturday. Let's see how it keeps the time.

    Updated to say that the "nut turning" did the trick. Thank you so much! I am once again enjoying my clock. Hope the OP can get theirs working correctly.

    This post was edited by newhomebuilder on Mon, Oct 27, 14 at 10:04