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Notch'o ordinary repair

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In our last episode your local horologist was vexed by Ken's clock.  It had started simply enough. Just a few very minor repairs and adjustments to a movement that was in excellent condition overall. The clock was now running and striking. Rush Limpbone here had called Ken and said the clock was ready to come home. Except it wasn't... Something had gummed up the striking. After running fine in the shop, the next morning it was striking the wrong numbers at the wrong times. Back to the bench. Your clock doc did a quick review of the wheels the strike train . The power from the strike mainspring runs through those wheels to the striking mechanism.  Nada. They appeared to be operating fine. So power from the strike mainspring through the wheels of the strike train was sufficient. Next up: was there any binding (friction) occurring somewhere in the strike works? First up for this inspective detective was the count wheel which is a device that functions similarly to a rack and sna...
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Sometimes simple is the answer

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And sometimes not. While visiting friend Ken this horology hack espied this: Attractive, spare design. Maybe 1920 or thereabouts? No obvious maker. "Beautiful clock. Does it run?" Ken told not a tale of woe rather that the pendulum wouldn't "keep going anymore". Doesn't know anything about clocks but loves this clock. "Want me to take a look?" He was thrilled. Transporting the clock your local horologist noted right away one critical problem with the clock. The movement seemed to shift in the case as it was moved. Ruh Roh. Back at the house and prior to landing in the shop  it needed Bella inspection. Smells good. Now in the shop it was quickly clear what was happening with the movement. Here is the view opening the back door of the clock. That's a German movement.  The "B&W" stamped on the plate is the mark of Berger & Würker. Not very well known but well regarded. What's that metal pin sitting on the bottom of the case? ...
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half a millimeter... give or take

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In our last episode your local horologist was finally able to get the Vienna regulator 's movement to run on a test stand in the shop. The contraption to support the pendulum was simple in design but tricky in the precision of alignment. What this enabled was the first really clear view of the escapement of the clock in action. Now this view alone didn't reveal all the mysteries to your clock detective but did lead to the culprit. Wait... culprit? Ah yes.  Why did this horological grease monkey attempt to build the contraption to get us this view in the first place? It was that the clock was running (good) but with very low amplitude  (not good) to the point of stopping (worse) -- and your clock detective suspected an escapement issue. The only way to watch the escapement in action was to build the contraption. And your clock doc saw the problem pretty quickly with these enhanced views. Here's the issue in a nutshell: The locking on the anchor's entrance pallet was la...
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Stand and deliver

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In our last episode your local horologist was frustrated in his efforts to diagnose the movement of the  Vienna single weight regulator without the ability to mount the movement and pendulum in a stand. The Viennas are one of the few models of clocks where the pendulum is attached to the back board of the case and does not hang from the movement itself. And the way the pendulum engages with the movement is...  Hmm...  On a practical level it is easier for your correspondent (and photo essayist) to explain how this engagement occurs by taking advantage of the decoupling of movement, pendulum and case required for this testing effort. So... Here is the movement freshly removed from the case. The dial is still attached. Those slats slide into the mounting bracket in the case. Note the crutch descending from the top of the movement -- it has a pin attached to a mechanism at the bottom.  Here's a close up. That pin protrudes perpendicularly from the end of the crutch. ...
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The inner depths

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Persistence. It's a virtue. About six months ago your local horologist wrote a series of posts about a Vienna regulator as seen here , here , here and most recently  here . We explored adjustable deadbeats, the Biedermeier design aesthetic and the entertaining conundrum of the second hand that swept a full trip around its dial in 45 seconds.  And the clock doc did get our European friend to run. But not well. Here she is. Sadly, its pendulum swing was... anemic.  The pendulum had low amplitude (distance of the swing). So what does that imply you ask? The amplitude of the pendulum reflects the amount of power being transmitted to it. Not enough power and a clock will stop. And that's what happened with our Vienna. Let's step back. How do we evaluate the amplitude of the pendulum and what's good vs. not so good? To start it's not strictly how far left and right the pendulum swings. It's more nuanced. Some pendulums need big swings and others less so.  It's ab...
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