. The cannon pinion is very different than the other pinions. Using the same example. Often this results in a smaller swing which doesn't take as much time as it should so the clock speeds up. On the positive side, these clocks run so slowly at 8 beats per minute that is is rare to have worn pivots and bushing holes. That is a sign that the clock needs professional attention. Your email address will not be published. With a pendulum swing of around an inch, that means the pendulum runs a marathon - 26 miles - each week! var year = today.getFullYear() I want to call someone to come look at it so hopefully, we can repair it. Not enough power is getting to the pendulum to make it swing as far as it should. It is held in place on the center wheel pivot by a friction spring, which allows the shaft to turn without moving the center wheel (handy for setting the clock). Considering a 1-second pendulum (3600 beats/hr) and a typical escape wheel and pinion of 30 and 6 teeth respectively, we would need a center wheel with 360 teeth! Do you have appropriate parts for sale? Even before the principles of gravity explainedwhya pendulum beats evenly, the pendulum was used as an accurate timing device. . It's ticking sound, similar to. I've adjusted the pendulum bob down to its lowest setting which has helped but not cured the problem entirely. My recently purchased grandfather clock is delaying even after I did rotate the pendulum nut to the maximum. Thanks. The first is that there is nothing wrong and the clock is doing just what it is supposed to do. In general, moving the fork on the spring up will give more push to the pendulum and will cause a longer rotation which will make it slower. Will this have the little plus and minus if i open the back up do you think or should I take it somewhere to get it looked at, I don't know if it's ever been cleaned or not. Depending on your activity, your rate can be higher or lower. Now pull the weight back about a foot and let your pendulum start swinging. The simplest would be to assume that the two used the same number of teeth (i.e. Thank you. The advantage of a pendulum for timekeeping is that it is a harmonic oscillator: It swings back and forth in a precise time interval dependent on its length, and resists swinging at other rates. To put the clock in beat, ensure that the pendulum overswing in both directions is equal. Just carefully push the minute hand to set the time. When fitting a pendulum, it will be mainly trial and error. Find a need and fill it. It has a fairly large diameter and a large number of teeth, making it look much like a small wheel. Note that the first pinion and last wheel do not show up in the equation they do not have any bearing on the gear ratio, since they do not mesh with another gear. Do you possibly have an idea as to why the clock is not working as it should, as I know this is a long shot asking you a question when you can't see physically what is occurring at my end. Open the front door and hang the pendulum on the hook (on . In that case you can order a key yourself. The clock has done much traveling - NZ to BC to AB and back to BC where it sites on my antic sideboard. Cuckoo clocks generally tend to run faster as they become worn. So having this information, we are ready to calculate the length of the pendulum. Sorry, I think I mise this. This is done by hand. This single-gear setup was common on smaller clocks and lower-cost clocks in the past, and is still in use for some low-end cuckoo clocks to this day. Ive improved the accuracy by shifting the small lever on the escapement to F but I cant shift it any further now and the clock is still losing about a minute per day. I am having the same problem, and no luck in moving the lever to the left. Someone also applied an excessive amount of oil to the clocks works. Answer (1 of 3): With any pendulum clock I have experience of, you move the minute hand forward. However, from your discription I am going to guess that your clock was made by Ingraham. The formula for the period T of a pendulum is T = 2 L g , where L is the length of the pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity. You probably will have to do a little filing to get the hook to properly fit the pendulum leader. Thanks for the tips on how to adjust the time keeping on a clock that is running too fast or too slow. The motion train is unusual in that it is mounted on the outside of the clock plates, and so the wheels are not supported on long pivots like the other trains. To speed up a clock you must make the effective length of the pendulum shorter; to slow down the clock, the pendulum length must be longer. What is Pyrography? Others have published much longer listsof clock BPH rates. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. I completely repaired the clock case and purchased a new clock movement with chime box, assembling everything together. If we were using a 6-tooth pinion, then, our numbers would be: Cannon Pinion: 39Minute Wheel 39Minute Pinion: 6Hour Wheel: 72. If it is uneven (tock . The cannon pinion drives the minute wheel and pinion, which in turn drive the hour wheel. Again remember to grasp the hand close to the bushing when making this adjustment. This is usually the largest wheel in the clock, and in almost all cases will rotate exactly once per hour. Commercial wheel and pinion cutters are available in different sizes, rated by theirModulenumber. The actual outside diameter (OD) of the gear is larger than the PCD by a small amount. A few of the gears inside will move as you turn the hand so that the hour hand will move accordingly. Calculate Beats and Pendulum Length from Tooth Counts If you know the number of wheel teeth, it is easy to calculate the correct pendulum length and the beats per minute. Here, the verge wheel is cut with teeth like a recoil escapement, and a traditional recoil anchor is used. Scientific principles govern what affects the swing rate of the pendulum. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have a 1920s Seth Thomas 8" ships clock. The Escapement also plays one more very important role it provides a small impulse to the pendulum, which allows the pendulum to overcome friction and keep moving. I will have another look at the problem. To slow down the clock, loosen the adjustment nut (turn it toward your left). like so many beats to an hour etc.? This is basically what was used in nearly every Pendulum clock that you might have seen. Once back together, I checked the hands, the bob, the rod, the verge, everything there is straight and not rubbing. Escapements come in a bewildering number of varieties some suitable for tower clocks, others for pocket watches, but those commonly encountered in wall and shelf clocks all share the same basic structure: there is anescape wheel, whose specially-shaped teeth engage a pair ofpalletsthat move back and forth with the pendulum. The gear train determines how many ticks are required to move the clock hands a certain distance. Your clock runs fast so you want to turn the top of the key towards the R to slow it down. Some mechanical clocks (usually cuckoos) don't have an adjustment nut: the bob slides up and down the pendulum rod and is held in place by friction. Listen to the tic toc. There are two types of curves commonly used in clock wheel teeth:epicycloidal(the curve generated by tracing a single point on a circle as it rolls) andinvolute(the curve generated by unwinding a line from a circle). A pendulum clockis a clockthat uses a pendulum, a swinging weight, as its timekeepingelement. The PCD is the point at which the meshing gears actually touch, and is the same as the diameter of the theoretically perfect gear. The app uses microphone to measure BPH. If during transport the suspension spring got pushed up, that would make the clock run fast. Most pivots will also have apinionmounted on them as well. Put FC = h , and MC = x, and OB = l. The beats per minute one follows ranges anywhere from 40 beats per minute, to 208 beats per minute. Also, it is better to set the time a few days after winding . In weight driven clocks, the weight chain will either be wrapped around a barrel similar to the one used by the spring-driven clock, or run over astar gearthat engages the links in the chain. A dangerous heart rate is likely to be associated . Since commercial pinion cutters are designed to cut a certain number of teeth, it would be a great help to use the same number of teeth in the minute pinion as is used elsewhere in the movement that way we would only need one pinion cutter. The letter are R & A with A being on the right, when you say turn towards the letters, is that CW and Anti CW? How do Wind-up (Spring-Driven) Clocks Work? The escapement controls the speed of the train by "counting" beats of the pendulum. Always try to grasp the hands close the the brass bushing, and try to avoid bending the hands. Usually you turn the thumb wheel to the Left to make the clock run faster and to the Right to make the clock go slower. A metronome is a device that was invented to assist musicians in keeping time. 2. Can i add some type of weight to the bottom of the nut to correct this? In this episode of metronome sounds, the metronome is set to 60 beats per minute. Instead, once an hour a pin on one of the wheels catches the tail of the hammer and strikes a bell or gong. They were commonly used on low-cost clocks, and are popular amongst modern clockmakers. My guess is that you have this type of striking mechanism and that for some reason, the lever that holds the rack up isnt releasing the rack to fall, and so each time the clock only strikes once. How can I get it to run correctly? I straightened that as well. Clockworks are made up of a collection of gears (calledwheelsin clock parlance) that convert the power of a wound spring or weight into a uniform motion. Worked ok prior but not it won't work. I am an enthusiastic, amatuer newcomer to horology. Any thoughts on why my clock is still running slow? In other words, it is nothing like arealpendulum . In order to find one, you'd probably want to look online at different professionals to learn about their services and experience so you can find one that is able to fix your clock. Your key should slide easily onto the arbor, but not so loose that either the key or the corners of the winding arbor can be damaged when you turn the key. It can be made to run backwards or forwards by how the stem is twirled. Animated cartoon picture of metronome ticking 96 beats per minute Picture of blue moving metronome animation ticking 60 beats per minute Example of a pendulum or plum bob swinging in a "Spirographic pattern" due to gravitational effect and a complex geometric equation The gear ratio calculation for this gear sequence will give us the number of swings of the pendulum that will result in the center wheel making one rotation. You probably have a clock with a "floating balance". 34% Off. tick . Thanks for your page, I have learned a lot! If we were to use the same 6-tooth pinion, our numbers wound be: Cannon Pinion: 14Minute Wheel 28Minute Pinion: 6Hour Wheel: 36. Thanks so much for your information regarding clocks running fast or slow. What else can I do? Any advice would be gratefully received. There is no way that we could come up with an equation to handle all of the various parameters, so again we turn to the physicists dodge of assuming a perfect abstract pendulum. This is a work in progress and the list will grow over time. If we were to use a 2:1 ratio, the results are even better: c = M/2(c+M) = (m+H) => H = (3M/2)-m(M*H)/(c*m) = 12 => H = 6mWhich leaves us with:M = 14m/3. I have a 38-year old wall clock that I purchased from South Korea and my wife's helper inadvertently dropped the clock, cracking the wood case when it hit the floor. A ubiquitous "kitchen clock" has a beat rate around 9300 beats per hour, which multiplied by 168 hours in a week, means the clock ticks 1,562,400 times per week. Check to see if there is a threaded rod projecting from the pendulum or if there is a pendulum nut in the bottom of the case.If this is the case, your clock needs some professional help. Without this push, the pendulum would stop after just a few beats. The vast majority of long case, tall case, grandfather clocks have a seconds pendulum that ideally runs at 3600 Beats Per Hour. With a bit of math, you can show that the relative speeds of the two disks is proportional to their radii This is called the gear ratio. . Mike. . If you do use glue, be sure it is completely dry before replacing the hands a final time. I have removed the hands multiple times and still no success. The Adams Brown TimeTrax 185 timer is a relatively low cost device that listens to the escapement of the clock and reads the clock's beat rate on a display. The main problem with it is that it runs too slow. Hi Mike, It is the original to the clock. I dabble in clock repair. To put the clock in beat: Make sure the clock is hanging straight. Ronell Clocks, Timesavers, and Merritts Antiques all carry double ended clock keys. Power trains can be as simple as single gear connected directly to the power source, or a complex series of gears. If we added another 6:1 wheel/pinion it would yield a 36:1 gear ratio, giving us 180 hours (7.5 days) on a single winding. I have a nice small clock movement with a platform escapement. With a tweezers, move the pointer towards the "-" to slow it down. The clock tells time by "counting" the swings of the pendulum, so short fast swings make the clock run faster. It is "started" by "winding" a small stem protruding from rear of clock by using two fingers and turning it. MY seth THOMAS MANTEL CLOCK HAS A BALANCE WHEEL AND IS RUNNING FAST IT PICKS UP ABOUT 30 MINUTES OVER NIGHT. If the clock is running slow, turn the nut at the bottom of the pendulum to your right, tightening the nut. 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Most pivots will also have apinionmounted on them as well so having information... To do and no luck in moving the lever to the clocks.!