How Does My Clock Run?

Mechanical clocks have a series of wheels and they are called "trains". A clock that only tells time has one train. A clock that tells time and strikes at the hour, has two trains. And a clock that tells time, strikes at the hour, and chimes every quarter has three trains. For each train you need power.

Clocks that have weights are powered by them. Clocks that are wound with a key and have no weights are powered by strong springs. Weights provide a more even distribution of power than do mainsprings. Mainsprings have a tendency to lose running time due to their age and if they are dirty. The drawback of weights is their lack of portability. Use soft cotton gloves or a cloth to handle the weights. The oils in our hands can tarnish brass weights.

If your clock is running a few minutes too slow or two fast you can adjust the speed by moving the pendulum bob up or down.  If too slow you turn the pendulum adjuster(screw at bottom of pendulum) to the right(clockwise) to raise the bob and the clock will run faster. If the clock is running too fast then you want to lower the bob, turning the adjuster to the left(counter-clockwise). You want to do this in small increments and wait a day before adjusting again.

Some early clock makers were Seth Thomas, Waterbury, Ansonia, New Haven, Gilbert, Welch, Ingraham, and Sessions to name a few. Many people in the Atlanta area have these clocks. So dust off those clocks you have been wanting to get working again and give me a call. You can be enjoying it again in no time.