The clock's front is ceramic. Its from Germany and the movement is marked CH. Schlenker Sohne, Schwenningen, Germany. Of course when I bought it, it was missing the pendulum and the key. I was able to buy the items that fit the clock. The first things that get lost are the keys and the pendulum because they are not attached to the clock or can come off.
This is a time only movement and you can tell from the dial as it has one winding hole just below the hand shaft. This clock is powered by a spring. In the picture you can see the small spring wound up at the bottom. In this time "train" there are six wheels between the plates. Because this is a time train we number the wheels starting with a T. The first wheel with the spring is T1 or the main wheel(which generates power up through the train). Then comes T2 wheel which meshes with T1 by a latern pinion. T2 wheel meshes with T3's pinion. T3 is on the center shaft. When the hands are on they are on the center shaft with T3. T3 wheel meshes with T4's pinion. T4's wheel meshes with T5's pinion. T5's wheel meshes with the escape wheel's pinion. And the last wheel is T6 or the escape wheel. Above the escape wheel is the pallet. As the wheels go up the train they get smaller and each wheel has a different number of teeth. There are two wheels on the front of the clock outside of the plates and are the hour wheel and the minute wheel.
The pallet above the escape wheel rocks back and forth and lets one tooth "escape" each time. The escapement gets the power from the spring to do this. If there was no pallet and the spring was wound up the power would make the wheels whirl around until all the power was released. The escapement is set up to let the power out gradually, one tooth at a time on the escape wheel. This is where you get the "tick" "tock" sound. The pallet has a crutch attatched to it and from there is a suspension spring, pendulum leader and the pendulum.
This is a basic clock but they get more complicated with more functions to perform. If you are into finding out how clocks work, hope you enjoy.
I have a clock similar to this that my grandfather brought from Germany. The gears are a gorgeous gold color, like this one. It's been in my family for generations. It's not working properly for the moment. I'm planning on taking it to a clock repair shop for repairs. I would hate for our beautiful German grandfather clock to get turned to scrap.
ReplyDeleteBill Li | http://www.midcoastclock.com/cleveland_clock_repair.html
That clock is beautiful! I have always been fascinated by clocks. Their complex inner functioning is really cool to me. How did you get into the clock restoration business? http://www.johnagillclockrepair.com/Clock-Repair-Restoration-Lansdale-PA.html
ReplyDeleteI just repaired a clock like this. It's ready to go back to the customer. If i'm not mistaken, the mainspring housing in your picture is on upside down. the half round part of the housing needs to be flipped over and a small screw goes through the hole into the post that it rest on. With it set up that way, does the pendulum have enough room to make full travel? Just an observation.
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