Adjusting cuckoo clock bellows for proper sound?

Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:09 am     Post subject: Adjusting cuckoo clock bellows for proper sound?

Purchased an elderly single weight cuckoo clock in which someone has replaced both bellows. With a little tinkering and cleaning it is running and keping time. The single bellows lift wire is actuated by a 4 position pin rotor at the rear of the movement. It sounds on each quarter hour, but it sounds like a low short train whistle. No "cuckoo" by any stretch of the imagination! From what I can see the left bellows is actuated first which actuates the right via an attached lift wire. I guess one would have to increase the lift on the left to raise the right one higher and possibly bend the attached lift wire to the right bellows. The sound is probably dependent of the amount of lift on each individual bellows.
I have a second cockoo I got running and have to replace the original bellows. This one has a lift wire for each bellows actuated off the movement and appears to be preset for lift. It is actuated on the half hour for one tone and full count tone on the hour. It maybe easier to set up.
Thanks,

clock

Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:51 pm     Post subject:

The duration of sound is due to the degree of lift, the quality of sound is the poduct of the air passage being free of debris and not warped (wood). From your description, the right bellow will fall when the left one falls. Perhaps you should consider a wire being missing from the right bellow to the 4-pin cam. Are the cam pins all the same length? If one is longer than the other 3, it would indicate the right bellow was to sound only on the hour and slightly after the left bllow. Good luck.