Setting the time

Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:49 pm     Post subject: Setting the time

My father told me that our clocks instructions said not to move the minute hand if it is within five minutes of the hour. You are supposed to let it chime before moving it. Why does it matter. What's the difference between that and moving it past the hour if its more than five minutes away?

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:48 am     Post subject: Setting the time

On older clocks the minute hand can only be moved up to the hour to allow the clock to strike. The clock must complete striking for that hour before you advance the hand any further. If the clock is a quarter chiming model you must stop at each quarter hour to allow the clock to complete the chime for that quarter before proceeding any further. On older clocks the time and strike will often go out of sync if the minute hand is moved ahead within five minutes of the time it is going to strike. Also the hands should never be turned backwards.

Most modern clocks have self adjusting chimes so resetting the time can be done almost at any time except while the clock is actually chiming or striking. The hands on a modern movement can be moved forward or backward to set the correct time.