Escapement

The pursuit of understanding antique clocks has kindled an interest in history that was all but eschewed by your correspondent when he was a youngster. Social Studies class was a drag to this yet to burgeon clock fan. Teachers never ignited any passion for the past in this otherwise curious mind.  Science ruled the day.  Biology. Chemistry. Physics. Math. Engineering.  Bring it. And in the years that followed your local horologist was schooled deeply in formal research methodologies and writing for many, many years.  Lest this scribbler of blog posts inadvertently suggest otherwise, this is not a tale of woe. Those early passions have served YLH incredibly well and certainly underpin no small part of his fascination with the mechanics of timepieces.  But truth be told some of the fervency of all things science has waned a bit. What has been pleasantly unexpected on this horological journey is the experience of excitement in researching, subsequent discovery of u...

Your local horologist has been lucky to enjoy a few trips to France over the years.  Nothing like a good bistro on a blustery day. When not in the shop this clock fool enjoys a good French film. Jacques Tati was  brilliant , Melville was a genius and Clouzot made one of the greatest films of all time. And the French made incredible clocks. YLH owns more than a couple and has had the chance to write about this one , and this one , and this one . Oh and this one ! And he hasn't even gotten to this one . There are others. French clockmaker's persistent dedication to and long tradition of quality, design and artistry , even in the face of tremendous economic challenge, surpasses the horological efforts of perhaps any other country.  French clocks were often made for the aristocracy and frequently designed with statuary and elements resplendent in gold. Here is an example of a classic French mantel clock in the Louvre: Photo courtesy of Pierre Philippe Thomire - Marie-Lan Ng...

It's been a while since your local horologist has penned a missive. Apologies. Finally the proverbial muse has sung loudly enough to inspire capturing here the fascination and excitement of this little piece of horology. Behold a part of a clock that has served both as inspiration and perspiration these last couple months. But what is this dingus? Here's a hint. The photo is beguiling. Displayed here laying on the workbench, in fact this critter is meant to actually function in a vertical orientation so imagine it rotated clockwise about 90 degrees. Here's another hint... Of late this clock  hoarder  fan has increasingly been fascinated by the sometimes unusual or dramatic features of certain styles of clocks. One such style is the Morbier (AKA Comtoise clock). And our mystery item is part of a Morbier clock.  What is a Morbier clock? The kind reader possibly has seen such a clock without knowing its name. The classic design of the Morbier is memorable -- typically consis...

In our last episode your local horologist was confounded by the "seconds" dial of the Vienna single-weight Regulator . Some of the answer to this conundrum lay in the history of the manufacture of these clocks.  The very earliest models of what became this classic style were created in about 1780 in Vienna. They were hand made by individual clockmakers and often of amazingly high quality. The style grew in popularity, over time evolving into several distinct variants matching the tastes of the times.  Of those of you familiar with Viennas the first image you might have when thinking of a one might be something more... ornate than our example.  Perhaps something like one these: Our Vienna is a bit more... modest in design. Again a photo as it was found on the wall when YLH first saw it. In that regard the observant reader / follower of this blog (thank you) might have noticed this tidbit from YLH's first posting about this clock, noted in its earlier owner's receipt ....

This says 60 right? 15, 30, 45... Sure looks like a 60 to your local horologist. Ahem. We'll come back to this. In our last episode YLH was enjoying the colorful history of the Vienna Regulator clock . More specifically a romp through the evolution of escapements ensued with this horology history hound landing on the engineering and whimsical details of the variation found in our single weight example,  the Vulliamy deadbeat . That escapement, and many other parts of this clock, are what many a horologist would characterize as high quality and well-built clock components. This became more apparent as the clock was disassembled for close inspection and cleaning. For example, here is the click and its spring on the main wheel. Really nice construction. And flipping that main wheel over YLH noticed what looked like another kind of spring on the back that he'd not recognized / noticed before.  A bit of research revealed that this was a secondary spring that keeps tension on the ...

Wha'dju call me? Well let's explain. In our last episode your local horologist was just about to discuss the removal and examination of the wheel train of the single weight Vienna Regulator.  The wheels looked to be in good shape but YLH was focused on the clock's escapement and in particular, its anchor. Recent readers will recall that an anchor engages with the teeth of the escape wheel and together they form the escapement . The escapement is the heart of the mechanical clock and fascinates your amateur d'horologie.  The anchor is the principal component of the escapement that drives the pendulum. The two major types of anchors are the recoil (a very early form of anchor and most commonly seen in mass-produced clocks) and the deadbeat (a later variant and more prevalent in European and higher quality clocks). There are many other types of escapements, some very exotic . Frequently attributed to  George Graham , the deadbeat was actually created by Richard Town...