Tips

Adjusting and Transporting your Clock

Daylight-saving

In summer the clock may be set forward an hour: move the
hands forward an hour. If the clock has rack-striking it is not
necessary to wait for the clock to strike each hour and half-
hour, except at twelve o'clock. If the clock has count-wheel
(or locking plate) striking, it is important to allow each full
and (possibly) half-hour to strike so that the time indicated
and the actual hour struck will not get out of phase.

With the coming of winter, the clock will need to be set back
an hour.
It is very important not to turn the hands anti-
clockwise through the hour or half-hour position
, as this can
cause damage to either the hands or the striking-
mechanism! One can either stop the clock for an hour or
advance the hands eleven hours, allowing the clock to
strike where necessary.

Resetting the Strike

In a clock with count-wheel striking it is possible for the time
shown and the hour struck to be different. There are three
possible ways to correct this:

  1. Find the count-wheel. It is a notched disc and in early
    clocks this is usually on the back-plate. A lever, the
    locking-detent, rests on the edge of this disc. Lift this
    lever slightly and the clock will begin to strike. When
    the clock has struck, raise the lever again. Repeat
    this process until hands and strike are back in phase.
  2. Move the minute hand in clockwise direction. Keep
    turning, without waiting for the clock to strike. Doing
    this, the hands can pass through several hours, while
    only one of the hours is actually struck. Repeat this
    process, taking into account what should be struck
    and what is being struck.
    E.g. In a clock with half-hour striking, the clock has
    stuck half past six but the hands show six o'clock: the
    next hour, which will be struck, is seven, so turn the
    minute hand straight through to seven o'clock.
  3. Bring the minute hand to about three minutes to the
    hour. Move the minute hand backwards to about a
    quarter to and the clock will strike. Move the hand
    forward to three minutes to and then backwards to the
    quarter. Repeat this process until hands and strike
    are in phase.

Transporting a Clock

In a clock with a pendulum, where the pendulum is not
fixed directly to the mechanism, it is best to remove the
pendulum before transport.

Keys

It is important that the key used to wind a clock is a good fit
on the square. If a key is too loose, it will cause damage to
both the key and the square and if it slips, it can be
disastrous for the dial.

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