This article will cover frequently asked questions about mechanical clock movements.
QUESTION: My clock chimes 5 minutes early/late on the quarter-hour chimes. How do I fix this?
ANSWER: When the clock is chiming, remove the minute hand from the clock. On the back of the hand is a bushing. With a pair of pliers, turn the bushing on the back of the hand so that when the hand is put back on, it's pointing directly at the number 3, 6, 9, or 12. Make sure you don't turn anything on the hand shaft while doing this.
QUESTION: The hand nut falls off. If I tighten it down, it stops the clock. What can I do?
ANSWER: Remove the hand nut and minute hand from the clock. Then, check the hour hand to ensure it's pushed far enough next to the dial. At least 1/8" of the brass shaft should be coming through the top of the hour hand. Once the hour hand is in the correct position, you can put the minute hand and nut back on. If the hour hand is too tight to go on any further, remove the hour hand and file out a small amount of the hole on the hour hand. There may be excess paint in the hole making it too small to fit correctly. Be careful not to file too much out of the hour hand; it still needs to be a snug fit.
QUESTION: Why does the middle weight drop faster than the outer two?
ANSWER: There could be several reasons why this is happening. First, are the chimes ever turned off? If so, turn the chimes back on. When the chimes are off, the two outside weights do not move down until the chimes are turned back on. Secondly, does the movement chime correctly for the ¼, ½, ¾, and hour chimes? If not, this could cause the middle weight to drop faster than the outer two. Lastly, is the movement keeping proper time? If the time is running a bit fast, this will cause the same issue with the weight drop.
QUESTION: What does each of the weights do?
ANSWER: The left weight (as you are standing in front of the clock) runs the hour strike. The center weight runs the time and pendulum. The right weight runs the 15-minute melodies. This is also true for wind-up clock movements.
QUESTION: I have a mechanical clock movement that reads '94cm' on the back, but I want to use a longer pendulum. Is this possible?
ANSWER: No. If you put a 114cm long pendulum on a clock that is meant to take a 94cm pendulum, it will run hours slower by a day and won't keep accurate time. It's the same as if you were to put a short pendulum on a movement that needs a long pendulum; it would run too fast.
QUESTION: Where does the heaviest weight go?
ANSWER: On the right-hand side as you face the front of the clock. This is true for all of the Hermle mechanical clock movements we carry.
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