New england clock co. floor clock

Last Edited By Krjb Donovan
Last Updated: Mar 11, 2014 07:39 PM GMT

Question

Clock Movement

Hello, I just recently purchased a New England Clock Co. Floor Clock or (Grandfather Clock) model #177 it is about 35 years old. It has a triple chime Hermele movement and also a silent position (this is not an automatic "night off" type) but just a manual silence position. It is chain/weight driven and I can only get the time to work on it. Every time I set it to any of the chime positions it will run and start chiming at the correct time. The problem is that the chime and hour gong just keep going and going without stopping and it will keep running and keeping correct time for a few minutes while chiming and eventually the chimes do stop and so does the pendulum and time movement. So I then have to put it back in the silent position and restart the clock and the clock continues to run fine as long as I don't set it to chime. If you could offer any suggestions as to how to correct this I would greatly appreciate it. My knowledge of clocks is fairly limited as I have ever really only oiled them with clock oil and never have taken any apart and re-assembled, however I did replace the suspension spring in the clock that I've talked about here. That was a fairly easy fix. One other thing I noticed about the clock is the hands are very hard to move in the reverse position for setting the correct time. Could it be jamming somehow? The weights are all in their correct positions. Again any help is appreciated . Thank you very much, Jim

Answer

The movement in the picture you supplied is actually an Urgos movement, not Hermle. The problems you're describing sound like the movement has bearing wear that is drifting the wheels off-center and affecting the proper chime operation. There may also be oil on some of the levers that has gummed and is preventing proper lever action. The minute hand getting hard to move is characteristic of this type of Urgos movement. There is a pretty close tolerance between the center arbor and the pinion it passes through as part of how hand tension is created. Over time the arbor gets scored inside the pinion and starts to bind. That assembly has to be taken apart and the arbor polished, and a small drop of oil applied before reassembly. All in all, it sounds as if this movement needs a proper cleaning & overhaul with pivots refinished and bushings installed to correct any wear. When done correctly, it should be good for 15-18 years before needing to be done again. When a good quality clock oil is used, additional oiling during that 15-18 year timeframe should not be necessary unless the clock is operated in a very dry enviroment that could prematurely dry up the oil. Never oil your clocks unless it is showing symptoms of needing it as too much oil on a movement can be just as detrimental as no oil at all.

Question

New England Clock Co. Floor Clock

Hello, I just recently purchased a New England Clock Co. Floor Clock or (Grandfather Clock) model #177 it is about 35 years old. It has a triple chime Hermele movement and also a silent position (this is not an automatic "night off" type) but just a manual silence position. It is chain/weight driven and I can only get the time to work on it. Every time I set it to any of the chime positions it will run and start chiming at the correct time. The problem is that the chime and hour gong just keep going and going without stopping and it will keep running and keeping correct time for a few minutes while chiming and eventually the chimes do stop and so does the pendulum and time movement. So I then have to put it back in the silent position and restart the clock and the clock continues to run fine as long as I don't set it to chime. If you could offer any suggestions as to how to correct this I would greatly appreciate it. My knowledge of clocks is fairly limited as I have ever really only oiled them with clock oil and never have taken any apart and re-assembled, however I did replace the suspension spring in the clock that I've talked about here. That was a fairly easy fix. One other thing I noticed about the clock is the hands are very hard to move in the reverse position for setting the correct time. Could it be jamming somehow? The weights are all in their correct positions. Again any help is appreciated . Thank you very much, Jim

Answer

Jim

 The chime is controled by levers and stop pins in the gears. One of the pins could be broken off and that would cause what is happening. The levers could be be dirty and stickey and staying up in the air and not dropping like they should. Or the chime cam may just need to be reset to the correct position to shut off. With out seeing the movement in person it is impossible to tell what it is, but it almmost has to be one of the things above. With no knowledge of repair I don't think it is something you can fix, unless someone has a video on you tube about it. I have not looked but I know they have videos on just about everything.

Mike

Question

New England Clock Co. Floor Clock

Hello, I just recently purchased a New England Clock Co. Floor Clock or (Grandfather Clock) model #177 it is about 35 years old. It has a triple chime Hermele movement and also a silent position (this is not an automatic "night off" type) but just a manual silence position. It is chain/weight driven and I can only get the time to work on it. Every time I set it to any of the chime positions it will run and start chiming at the correct time. The problem is that the chime and hour gong just keep going and going without stopping and it will keep running and keeping correct time for a few minutes while chiming and eventually the chimes do stop and so does the pendulum and time movement. So I then have to put it back in the silent position and restart the clock and the clock continues to run fine as long as I don't set it to chime. If you could offer any suggestions as to how to correct this I would greatly appreciate it. My knowledge of clocks is fairly limited as I have ever really only oiled them with clock oil and never have taken any apart and re-assembled, however I did replace the suspension spring in the clock that I've talked about here. That was a fairly easy fix. One other thing I noticed about the clock is the hands are very hard to move in the reverse position for setting the correct time. Could it be jamming somehow? The weights are all in their correct positions. Again any help is appreciated . Thank you very much, Jim

Answer

I urge that you not turn the clock hands backwards. This can be very detrimental to the clock. When a situation arises where the clock must be turn backwards, STOP THE CLOCK until sufficient time has lapsed to require moving the hand forward to achieve proper time setting. Always stop moving the hand forward until the current sequence has completed. Continue doing this until the correct time is reflected by the hand and chime/strike. Now as to the strike not stopping when it should, it is quite likely that a lift lever is hung up and cannot fall into its lock position. This is one of the possible consequences of moving the hands backwards to set or not allowing each sequence to complete before moving to the next one. I believe this should do it for you,

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