Herschede grandmother clock, need to unwind cables

Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 1:52 am     Post subject: Herschede grandmother clock, need to unwind cables

First post on this forum, thanks for helping out a newbie!

I have a Herschede grandmother clock that was my grandfather's. I had it running in another house for a few years, then moved to my current house. I've been renovating this house so I did not take the time to get the clock up and running here. It has been sitting with the weights not attached for a little over four years. I have recently completed renovations including my home office and am ready for the clock to be back to running again.

My first issue was when I went to attach the weights to the cables it appears that someone wound the cables up too far when preparing for the move here (maybe me, who knows). The wheels (don't know the real term) that sit on the cables and have hooks for the weights are hanging upside down, and since the cables are pulled so far up towards the top of the clock, there is no room to flip these wheels over and hang the weights from the cables. I've googled and looked online and see no way to unwind these cables down a little so I can get the weights on them.

I'd like to at least get the weights on there, make sure the clock is level and see if I can get it running. After that if it has any issues I will be calling a local jeweler who also does clock repairs/setup to come and get it running correctly.

Any ideas? I can take some pictures and provide any more details that are needed. Thanks in advance.

Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 1:56 am     Post subject:

I would get the clock cleaned, and oiled first. It has been sitting for a few years, and the oil has probably dried out, may also be sludge build up on the gear shafts. The clock can be set-up by the repair person.

Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 10:52 am     Post subject:

Thanks for the reply, I'll go that route. Easier to pay to have it cleaned and set up now than fixed later I guess.