Rattles while chiming the hour

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:11 pm     Post subject: Rattles while chiming the hour

I have a Howard Miller grandfather clock that started rattling whenever it chimed the hour about a year after we bought it. We had a local repairman look at it, and the best he could come up with was adjusting the chime hammers in such a way that although it no longer rattled, it was VERY loud (only on the hour chime). So, I'm trying to "fix" it myself. I've managed to get the chimes back to a normal volume but, it's back to rattling again. The rattle seems to be coming from the movement right after every hammer strike, except the last one. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:42 pm     Post subject:

I can not claim to have the exact answer to your query, but I can offer a couple of suggestions.

1.) I would check the gap between the hammers and rods. If the gap is too small, the rods may vibrate against the hammers creating a rattle sound. You can increase the gap, which should also slightly decrease the volume of the chimes. Be careful not to move the hammers too far away from the rods, however, as you may not be able to hear the chime if you do. Typical gap between hammers and rods is about 3/32" up to 1/8" - but this is not an exact dimension. Best to "play it by ear" - no pun intended...

2.) You could also check to see if any of the rods are rattling against each other or the clock case as the movement chimes. While it is not a good idea to make large bend adjustments to the chime rods, they can be slightly moved if they should happen to be vibrating against each other (which wold also result in a rattle sound).

Being that the repair person had fixed the problem with a bend adjustment to the hammers, I believe that the first option is probably your best fix.