Pendulum wobbles right before stopping

Question

Hi, I recently bought a Herschede Sheffield 230 9 tube grandfather clock. It won't stay running after moving, and the pendulum wobbles right before stopping. I hear the tick tock when it is running. I leveled it to my best too. Try to find out why it does this. Thanks a lot.

Answer

Darrell, when a clock is moved, the problem that is most common is that the escapement has been knocked out of beat or the suspension spring has been damaged or out of place. Leveling a clock will not necessarily bring it in to beat if it was knocked out. You want to listen for an even tick tock. However, the pendulum wobbling is probably the result of a damaged suspension spring. I believe your model has a suspension spring (black leaf spring) attached to the pendulum with a screw. The top of the spring is attached to a device with two brass knurled round nuts with pins on each side. The pins rest in the bridge on the top back of the movement. The bridge has two pieces on the back with v-grooves. The pins fit in the v-grooves. Look at these things and let me know what you find. If you need a photo of the bridge and suspension spring configuration, contact me at my shop email address below and I will reply with a photo. My shop computer has been out for a month restoring from a virus but I am getting up to speed now.