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What does it mean to clean and restore a clock?

  1. Over decades, the clock movement builds up dust and dirt that blend with old oil and this creates a sticky wax in and around the moving parts. This slows down the movement and eventually causes the clock to stop.
  2. To clean the movement, it is taken out of its case and stripped down revealing all its separated parts. These parts are then immersed in a warm, environmentally-friendly chemical cocktail in a sonic wave bath, which then cleans all the unwanted particles away. These clock parts are then washed thoroughly in hot water and then dried in a hot air drum.
  3. Mainsprings that drive the different power trains of the movement are removed, cleaned, lubricated and returned to their positions. Over decades, mainsprings gradually lose their power and this can contribute to a clock movement stopping.  It is fairly normal to replace the mainsprings with new ones. 
  4. With grandfather and other clocks driven by weights, their chains are removed and cleaned and reestablished.
  5. Once cleaned, the pivots on all the gears are polished on a lathe to return them to smoothness. The pivot holes in the plates are examined for signs of excess wear and, if necessary, bushings are inserted in those worn holes to return them to their correct size. Finally, the holes are polished using a high speed drill holding peg wood.
  6. The movement is then rebuilt, placing all the gears and levers in their proper positions. The power trains (time, strike and chime) are then checked to ensure full functioning.
  7. The "beat" of the clock is then reset.
  8. Finally, the movement is regulated to make sure that it is running neither too fast nor too slow.​
  9. If requested to work on the clock's case, I will do so but will discuss details before beginning the work.

National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors, Inc.

Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA

November 2014

Machine Tools & Materials

Most of the training was on using a Sherline lathe to file and polish pivots, and to construct brass bushings and other components for clocks.

Basic Clock Repair

The course presented the fundamentals of clock movements, their operations, dismantling and cleaning them, repairing torn and broken mainsprings, setting the beat and regulating the time.

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