Clocktime: The Olivewood Tompion Table Clock c1673, 05 The Movement

Thomas Tompion - Olivewood Tompion architectural turntable-base tic-tac escapement table clock.
Join Dr John C Taylor OBE from the Clocktime digital museum as he discusses the movement of The Olivewood Tompion Table Clock, circa 1673.
Discover more about early and antique clocks and watches...
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I've just taken the dial off the Tompion here, undone the front latches and then had the hands and put them back on, so we can now see the under dial work and how it works. First of all, we've got the three shutters which cover the winding, the alarm, the going train and the strike train. So, if we pull the shutter spring, you can see all three of the latches here moving. So, the maintaining power keeps the clock running whilst you wind it. We've got to then cock the striking train before it will strike again because if you remember, it's locked out on the countwheel dropping in to the hoop wheel. So, if we just let it go again, it would immediately start striking. So, it has to be locked out and as the hand comes around, you'll see it lift this lifting wheel, so see it coming up and see it's then locked in the other way and when it passes now the hour it will drop off there, which will set off the train. So, it's just coming up to the eighth hour and any moment this will drop off. There it goes, 8 o'clock. So, the maintaining power now is about run out and so we finished winding it and the maintaining power will drop out as I speak. So, in the front of the clock there are all sorts of interesting things to have a look at. First of all, the split in the frontplate, so on this side you've got all the strike train, on that side you've all got the going train. So, each train can be taken completely down, leaving the other one in situ, so you're not only doing half the work to put it back together again. So, with a spring you don't want the spring to run completely out, so these are set up so you can always have the spring working towards its top end rather than it coming right to the bottom end where it would run out of power, so that the setup clicks, do the preload on the spring and you've got one for the going train and one for the striking train. So, we're looking at the striking train now and you can see the bell at the top with the great wheel here and the fusee, the gut line coming back down to the barrel where the spring is. So, the driving force is at the bottom and the result is at the top. So, if I move the finger forward, you see it locks the train and now it will go off.