German Free Swinger Wall Clock Repair

[@BradfordNeedham]

An index for this video: 0:00 - 0:21 Overview of the clock condition. 0:21 - 2:40 Removing the hands and the dial; checking the condition of the dial. 2:40 - 3:42 Examining the trademark on the movement. 3:42 - 4:55 Checking whether the movement ticks and strikes. 4:55 - 6:00 Letting the springs down, which are in barrels. 6:00 - 11:02 Removing the parts that are outside the plates. 11:02 - 11:21 Examining the pivot holes for wear. Deciding no bushing is needed. 11:21 - 13:30 Removing the front plate. 13:30 - 14:13 Brief overview of the disassembled parts. 14:13 - 16:13 Examining the repairer's signatures and dates scratched into the inside. 16:13 - 17:38 Removing a helper spring; cleaning the posts on the lathe. 17:38 - 18:09 Polishing the pivots on a lathe (after cleaning the wheels). 18:09 - 19:44 The parts after ultrasonic cleaning, ready to be hand cleaned. 19:44 - 21:21 Testing the cleaned time and strike trains. 21:21 - 22:29 Pegging the pivot holes. 22:29 - 25:17 Reassembly of the trains. 25:17 - 26:03 Oiling the pivot holes before attaching parts that cover some of them. 26:03 - 27:40 Attaching and oiling the Motion Works. 27:40 - 29:10 Attaching the rest of the movement's parts. 29:10 - 30:02 Discovering that one of the mainsprings is off the arbor hook, requiring disassembly again. 30:02 - 31:22 Running the reassembled movement on the benchtop. 31:22 - 32:47 Test running the movement on a test stand. 32:47 - 33:41 Testing the striking counts. 2 o'clock incorrectly strikes 1 o'clock. 33:41 - 34:05 Describing the cause of and fix for the striking problem. 34:05 - 35:57 Examining the running movement, and looking at a number scratched into the bezel. 35:57 - 36:12 The movement with hands, face, and pendulum, running on a test stand. 36:12 - 38:04 Discovering the "screws" in the case are nails, and the glass was cut to fit the broken door. 38:04 - 38:59 Grinding the bezel glass diameter down so it fits the repaired door. 38:59 - 39:47 The finished clock.

[@uhren_und_technik302]

You did a good Job. IT is a Carl Werner. I think that Clock is from the 1920's. I restored a Free Swinger Wallclock from Pfeilkreuz. I restored the Case and repaired the hole Movement. Now IT runs perfect

[@PeeWee33772]

I found a Charles Halstead watch maker, and he was also a Londoner, but I could not find anymore CH's, Clock makers? Your channel is so very interesting, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us meer mortals.

[@kowgiirlup]

DP, with all the ruckus you went through with the repair, in the end, you made it a beautiful clock again. I think this one is my favorite repair so far not including mine of course. It did get the ol’ heart pumping though near the end of the video ;-).

[@dperry428]

It's just astounding what people will do to a clock.

[@beckquebeck2449]

Great video, I highly admire your diligence!

[@dperry428]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johnspenard8900]

Love to watch your videos. I can tell you have a background in teaching and really enjoy making these instructional videos. I am new to clockwork and have learned a lot from watching you work. I would like to know if you think you will continue making new videos for a while. Also could you tell me, or perhaps show us how you go about removing scratches from brass plates. Also, how far do you usually go in shining up the parts? Do you use a brass polish on them? Thank you, and please keep up the good work.

[@dperry428]

I'm glad you find the videos helpful. I work on clocks almost exclusively in the winter when I can't be outside. I do have some work to get done that I will work on during some evenings, so there might be a video or two over the summer. As far as scratches in brass plates go, there is a limit to what can be done without causing more damage. Deep scratches can be attenuated but not completely removed. One can start by using a fine file and draw-filing across the scratches. Fine wet/dry sandpaper can then be used, followed by finer grits. I personally like using the boards used for polishing fingernails. Whether to polish brass parts or not is also a matter of what movement one is working. It's best to clean the brass what it would have been its original condition. Some were highly polished, like carriage clocks, and some were not. If the brass is stained or corroded with verdigris, I will remove it, sometimes starting with Brasso, with a rinse following, then finish polishing with a polishing compound used on acrylic tubs and showers. Finish off with a polishing cloth and removing residue with a brush. For heavily stained brass, the initial cleaning may also include using 0000 steel wool. You can use a lot of different things to clean and polish, so long as residues and grits are completely removed. You don't want any fine grit left on wheel teeth or arbor pivots that would increase wear.

[@johnspenard8900]

Thank you for your speedy reply Don. I must have caught you at just the right time. I'm not sure I would be brave enough to try a fine FILE on it yet. Being new (about 1 year now) to this, I have already made a plethora of mistakes. lol I do learn from them, but the damage is still done and must be corrected which, of course can lead to more problems. Kind of the school of hard knocks, I suppose. Perhaps I could try one of your other solutions first. I just don't want to make more or worse scratches.

[@dperry428]

Practice on a junk movement. There are a ton of them that can be purchased from eBay.

[@carrollmeyer557]

How do you get it so shiny?

[@dperry428]

Keep in mind these movements were manufactured with a polished finish. All I'm doing is restoring what was already there. I do use a fine polish made for acrylic bath/showers to restore the original finish. I also polish the arbors when I polish the pivots in my lathe.

[@sgnt9337]

I've had the spring come off the winding shaft myself once on a ships bell clock. Not a happy discovery! Although it took several assembly attempts anyway, to get it to gong properly (I got in a little over my head on that one). Back in the day (35 yrs ago) we used to etch our SSN's on tools and such. Yikes..

[@jameswagner3685]

Love all of your videos. However, I would like to see you do and explain how to time the strike on a Sessions time and strike mantle clock movement. My movement is confused and not falling in the deep slots on the count wheel. No model number is shown on the movement.

[@dperry428]

If it's the old style American clock movement, what you need do is Place the warning pin on the warning wheel at the 12 o'clock position, where it will rest against the stop lever, place the cam that's between the plates such that the lever that rides on it is in the slot in the cam, and bend the countwheel lever such that it is in a deep slot.

[@jameswagner3685]

@@dperry428 Checked that and found the warning wheel pin and locking lever is at 12:00. The cam doesn't have a slot. However, it does have a wedge shaped detent with a flat smooth bottom and the arm is in that detent, at the bottom. The count wheel arm is in the deep slot. When asked to strike the count wheel arm rises out of the deep slot but does not engage every count wheel tooth, as I understand it should, until it reaches the next deep slot. Instead it sometimes will stop and drop in the middle of the count on the count wheel. So, what do you think?What shoud I look for?

[@dperry428]

If you look at the arbor to which the count wheel lever is attached, there is another lever that rides the cam. There is also a third lever that is on that same arbor that constitutes the stop lever, the one that will ultimately drop in front of the warning pin to stop the strike. All three of those levers rise and drop together. As the lever on the cam rides the cam, each time it gets to the depressed area on the cam, it will attempt to fall and take the stop lever down in front of the stop (warning) pin, but it is kept from doing so by the count wheel lever until that lever falls into a deep slot on the count wheel. Only when the count wheel lever drops into a deep slot can the cam lever also drop into the depressed area of the cam, which then allows the stop lever to drop in front of the warning pin and the strike halts. The count wheel lever should not "engage the count wheel teeth"; rather, should, as the clock strikes, be high enough to clear the teeth and, as the cam lever encounters the depressed area of the cam, the count wheel lever should be seen to drop enough to touch the count wheel between the teeth and then immediately rise again as the cam lever rides up on the cam. It should be a small, though visible movement down and then up by the count wheel lever. When the count wheel lever gets to a deep slot, it then drops into it and allows the cam lever to drop deeper and the stop lever to move in front of the warning pin. So, there is an interplay between the cam lever and the count wheel lever that, with each rotation of the cam, the cam lever tries dropping into the lower area and the count wheel lever preventing it from doing so until the arrival of a deep slot on the count wheel. The count wheel lever and the cam lever, therefore, need to be bent such that the cam lever rides the edge of the cam and is free to move into and out of the lower area of the cam, while at the same time, the cam lever, when it is out of the depression, lifts the count wheel lever above the height of the teeth on the count wheel. If the count wheel lever is bent upward too high, then it will allow the cam lever to drop into the depressed area of the cam even when the count wheel lever is between deep slots. You just have to carefully observe what each lever is doing and their relative positions and make adjustments until they act as I've described. Without actually having the movement in front of me, that's about all I can suggest. Of course, the cam wheel and warning wheel have to be in positions such that, when the cam lever drops, the stop lever is able to catch the warning pin. Make sure the pin isn't passing the stop lever before it has dropped enough to catch it.

[@jameswagner3685]

@@dperry428 Thank you. Thereis a lot there. Your advise of observation is well taken. I'll have to play with it and get back to you if I figure it out. Thanks for your explaination and time. I think that I am good on most of that. I believe my prblem lies in the height adjustment of the count wheel lever.

[@amosradedaud5351]

Sorry this hour can you tell her the price if the market?

[@dperry428]

I assume you want to know how much this clock is worth? I have no idea. Perhaps a couple hundred dollars.

[@randyplank4049]

Do you repair electric mantel clocks?

[@dperry428]

Sometimes.

[@davidpopplewell4751]

Fantastic.

[@uwethomae4127]

Schöne Uhr! :-)

[@fbicknel]

Uhrwerksmeister, perhaps? The engraving on the right is no doubt the address.

[@dperry428]

Could be. I just don't agree with repair people who deface the clock with their marks. I consider it graffiti or even vandalism. Rather like an automobile mechanic scratching his name on the door after changing the oil. A simple paper pasted inside the clock case would suffice.

[@sgnt9337]

I once bought an old bench plane (Edwin Hahn) where someone pulled the same stunt (nail with head filed for slotted screwdriver). It was the "screw" that held the handle to the body of the plane.

[@dperry428]

As old as I am, I'm still astounded at how many knotheads there are in the world.

[@flying2bill]

@@dperry428 The problem with trying to make something Idiot Proof is that everyone underestimates the ingenuity of complete idiots