Another first time clock owner-George Marsh Ogee

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 8:37 am     Post subject: Another first time clock owner-George Marsh Ogee

Well, I'm sure you all are used to it by now, but you have another inexperienced clock owner here. I want to thank you all in advance for your advice!

I bought this clock a few weeks ago for $70. I collect antiques but I've never had an old clock. I had to buy a pendulum, weights, string (still had catgut) and a new leader wire. Is that what it's called? The wire with the feather at the top?

The clock kept perfect time for 5 minutes, down to the second and then lost momentum and stopped. If I propped the clock WAY high up under the right side, it kept running very well and was very accurate. Obviously, I couldn't leave it that way though. Long story short, I kept bending the verge? wire and now it doesn't go for more than 10-15 seconds. Something is out of whack now and I can't get it going again. I need to start back at square one. I do not know how to position the wires properly. While the clock movement looks dirty, the actual pivot points are not gunked up and are not worn down. They are well oiled and glide freely. I have a feeling I just messed up the adjusting and I can't fix it. I also have tried adjusting the pendulum length and the leader wire length. As you can see, I started to clean the front of the movement but stopped halfway through.

The clock repair shops in my area have a $75 minimum and I just can't pay that. I've spent a lot on this clock already. I will also post this on my favorite antiques forum so that the pictures can be viewed and I can share the info with them. It's a great forum located at:
www.antique-shop.com/forums
You might have to have an account to view the pics but it's a great forum and worth registering! I'm sure people there would also love to learn about clocks and share information and experience. Here is the link to my post:
http://www.antique-shop.com/forums/index.php?topic=6768.0

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 2:56 pm     Post subject:

Sounds as though you may have an issue with beat adjustment. That would explain why you would have to lift the right side to keep the pendulum running. Beat adjustment is something that you can do yourself (and it has been covered within many other posts of the mechanical movement forum). I will try to find such a post and add it to this message.

Pendulum length adjustment will not help, as that adjustment is only to effect the speed of the movement in a 24 hour period. If your clock gains or looses time in a 24 hour period, then we would make an adjustment to pendulum length. Given that you have made adjustments, you will definataley be messing with this once you have achieved an even swing for your pendulum.

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 2:57 pm     Post subject:

From a previous post:

If this is a pendulum movement, then it sounds as though you will need to adjust the beat. If you know that the movement and clock case (the movement most importantly) are level, then the next step is to make certain the pendulum is in beat. The pendulum typically attaches to a metal piece called the pendulum leader. The pendulum leader, in turn, is typically fed through the crutch arm, which is an arm that extends out the back plate of the movement. Remove the pendulum and slide the pendulum leader out of the crutch arm slot. This crutch arm must swing an equal distance from center to left as it does from center to right. If it is uneven, then you can push through slight resistance so that you can gain an even swing. Replace the pendulum leader and pendulum. This would be typical for many brands of mechanical movements. This should also take care of the escapement issue.

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 6:22 pm     Post subject:

I would bend back the verge wire to where it was originally. Sounds like you have a real early clock, it may be worth the $75 to get it checked out, or you could just leave it on the shelf.

As Chris mentioned I would make sure the case is level, as well as the movement in the case.