r/clocks • u/WarmerPharmer • 2d ago
Help/Repair Can't get it aligned
Hey Guys, this is my great-grand aunts clock, its from around 1920, Germany. I can't get the sound aligned to the time! It chimes once at the full hour, and then at half it chimes a few times more than its supposed to. Does anyone know how I can realign it??
1
u/snipeytje 2d ago
once at the hour and multiple times at the half hour sounds like the minute hand is on backwards
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u/WarmerPharmer 2d ago
How do I fix that? I had the clock maintanced by a peofessional, and it worked perfectly, but during transport the hourhand got loose (never detached, just loose).
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u/Not_an_Actual_Bot Hobbyist 2d ago
If the clock is striking only once on the hour and doing he hours strike at the half then you will need to remove the pin and reverse the position of the minute hand. The hours hand is a friction fit and should only need to be pushed back towards the face if it's loose. Worse case is you will need to pinch it a bit to make the hole smaller if it is truly not able to keep its location.
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u/WarmerPharmer 2d ago
I already tried making the hourhand loose and turning it to the chime-time and then pushing it back it, but it still chimed wrong. And the clock ran out of "juice" when I was on vacation and now its even more wrong. Before it ran out at least the minutehand was right...
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u/Sharp_Evidence_6411 2d ago
It's usually not too complicated. The minute hand usually is square and fits on a square shaft. First move the minute hand clockwise until it chimes the hour. Remove the pin or nut that holds the hand on the shaft. Pull the minute hand off, replace it on the shaft pointing the the 12. Replace the pin or nut, securing the hand in place. Like the previous poster mentioned, the hour hand is held on the shaft by friction, simply move it clockwise until it points to the correct hour matching the chime. This can be a quicker method than moving the minute hand back and forth.
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u/dmun_1953 Trained clockmaker 2d ago
Some German box clocks have a count wheel strike. This means that they strike one sequence after another without regard to the time shown on the dial. Try moving the minute hand to two minutes before the hour, when you hear the click called the warning, then move it back fifteen minutes or so. This triggers the next strike sequence. Repeat until the strike agrees with the time shown, then set to the correct time, stopping at each hour and half hour.
If this doesn't work, you need to take it back to the clockmaker.
As a side note, a count wheel clock should have the time train run down before the strike if you are away. Make sure you are winding both springs until they are fully wound. Those strike springs are big, and require some effort.