over wound mantle clock

[Ramjet]

My wife has a Seth Thomas mantle clock which decided to quit working early this summer .Pretty plain one .

It seems to be wound up pretty tight . It sat while we waited patiently for the repair person to get back to us after playing phone tag .

This past Sarurday she dropped by and looked at the clock and casually said it would cost $600.00 to repair . Choke !!

$85.00 to give it a clean , lubricate and no guarantee .

$25.00 for the visit .

A new mechanism costs around $200.00 on line .

Well the over 100 year clock mechanism is out of it's case . Oh Oh !

My question to the clock guy's :Is there a way to back off the spings ? An easy way that is .
It can be cleaned with acetone and then lubricated with a jewelers oil .

I've read on line how to do it but the small latch won't move . I undestand the key must be held so the spring will unwind slowly .

Any suggestions ?

Roger

[Ramjet]

I got it unwound . I have the bruised thumb to prove it . Still doesn't tick .

Roger

[KtownScroller]

Roger PM Tim (Evilbadger) (Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Message Board - View Profile: evilbadger) he has done clock repair and might be able to give you some help.

My experience with a sprung spring is that once it's broken it's broken for good. One thing I can't figure is why you would need a whole new works to fix the problem. It sounds like your repair person wasn't too knowledgeable. You might want to try another clock shop.

[wood-n-things]

I'm not a clock person but I'd be asking for more than 1 quote for sure.

[evilbadger]

Roger

It sounds like you might need to replace the mainspring. Not really a job for most DIY people there are some special tools required. If you can get some pics and give a little more info on the background as far as the last time it ran and if it was moved or anything like that. Maybe some pics so I could see which movement it is then I can go through a common checklist with you.

[Ramjet]

I'll take some photos once I get my camera's battery charged .

Thanks .
Roger

[Ramjet]

Here's a couple of photos . On the back of the clock is 28 J . Not sure if that is the model as there are no other marks .

The springs seem to hold their tension . It's almost like there is a lock on the movement ?

These photos arn't the greatest .

Roger

[evilbadger]

Roger

Send me a pm with your email address and I can send you some information that will help you. Everything is copyrighted so I can't post it here as I am sure you know already.
In the third picture there is a rod connected to a piece that looks like a tuning fork follow that up and inside the movement you should see a wheel with strange looking teeth and a piece above it that should connect to the rod with the fork make sure the piece above the wheel rocks back and forth and is in alignment with that wheel.
Its hard to explain from a long distance. Maybe once you see how all the parts go together it will be a little easier.

[evilbadger]

Roger

I didn't forget about you just been busy working. I am putting some stuff together and will email soon. I did see your message. So if you can hang in there we can probably get your clock up and running again.

[evilbadger]

Roger

When you have some time check out this link Escapements in Motion!

On that site if you click through the different escapements and see which one matches your clock that will help me narrow down some info for you. Just taking a guess I am going to say the Graham Clock Escapement is probably going to be the one.
The escapement is on the shaft that the pendulum rod connects to. The gear teeth look different than the rest of the gears so that should help you narrow it down. When the pendulum swings back and forth the piece above the escape wheel need to rock back and forth to allow the escape wheel to turn one tooth at a time.

Which spring did you unwind the left or right?