Mxfrank - thanks for the exhibits; need to study. Meanwhile here is a pic and a video of the mouse and snail mechanism striking. I see one brass piece which has obviously been repaired in the past and cannot tell if it is intact or if something has been broken off the end.

Please give me your thoughts.

Thx.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psooiwriki.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...pspcnuoxar.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psno7kcepr.mp4

If you look to the left of the snail, at about 7 oclock, there is a spring. It doesnt look original, but no matter. It should be tensioning the rank and follower. If not, thats the problem. The follower looks a bit creative, but its hard to tell in these photos.

After looking at the video, it looks like the sping is ok. What I'd like you to do is replace the hour and minute hands, leave the face off. Then advance the minute hand slowly until the rack releases. See if the follower touches the cam and if the count is right.

Mxfrank - thanks. Tied up now and have Habitat all day tomorrow. So I cannot get back to it for a bit. Will take another video as soon as I can.

Appreciate the help.

Ok, got it. If you look at the first photo, I've market the 12 hours on the snail. The follower will drop onto a different segment each hour. The follower will allow the rack to drop an appropriate number of teeth.

Look at the second photo. The follower has fallen at 7pm, but the cam has dropped to 12. This means that the rack and follower aren't properly synched. You will need to remove the weight, then remove the pin that holds these parts in and see what's going on. But there may be another explanation.

Also notice that there's severe wear on the surface of the cam, and there's something going on with the follower as well. The wear is greatest at 10 and 11, which is probably why it rang the way it used to. My guess is that there was some sort of repair to the follower...maybe an extra bit soldered on which is no more, and that may be an alternative explanation.

Mxfrank - hard day at Habitat today so I have not yet studied your last posts. As you requested here is a video of the clock striking.

Thx for the help.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psdaudwqef.mp4

Mxfrank - I note that the follower is not touching anything; not the snail, nothing. Is it supposed to catch in the 1-2-3 notches in the snail? If so, not happening and I wonder if the snail has drifted inward toward the back of the clock so that the clock mechanism works but the follower no longer touches the snail. Maybe a washer behind the snail has worn off and the snail slid back say 1/64th inch so the follower no longer works?

Or is the followerl supposed to have a small protrusion on it which engages with the snail and which might be broken off - looks like I see an old solder repair there.

Very interesting problem; not something I have ever tried to learn.

Thx.

I'm not sure what's happened, but I can guess. The follower is supposed to hit the appropriate step on the snail each time the strike mechanism engages. My suspicion is that the original part broke, probably because someone wound the time side and not the strike side. The follower must have caught on the cam, resulting in the damage between 10-11, and the follower must have broken. The solder suggests that a bit of brass was added as a fix, but is broken off now. Look around inside the case for the missing repair piece.

You can easily solder another bit of metal there, but it's not likely to be a permanent fix. The part can be removed without disassembling the entire movement. First remove the weights to prevent surprises, then remove the pin and washer. The lever and rack should just lift out. I would be inclined to pin the part in addition to soldering. A patch will always be a patch, but you can get it to work for awhile without much effort.

Given the generally dirty and dry condition of the clock, you may want to consider having this fixed professionally. A clockmaker can make new parts, returning it to good running conditioon. The plates should really be separated and the clock cleaned, oiled and rebushed as needed. I'd also replace the cat gut, as there's no telling how long it's been there. It's a nice clock, it would be worthwhile to do it right. I won't attempt to remotely explain how to do this. If you want to do the work yourself, you really need an experienced person looking over your shoulder.

Mxfrank - thanks a lot for you advice. Agree that I need to take it to a clockmaker. Interestingly enough I sent it out of town about five years ago for a complete cleaning and servicing; could the oil have dried out that fast? Was supposed to fix the 11 and 12 strike but said he could not do it.

Do you have any idea what I should expect to spend? The servicing was several hundred dollars and I am not sure exactly what he did.

Thx.

It may just be hard to tell from the photos, but it does look dry to me. You certainly have cobwebs and what looks like some fibers caught in the mechanism, so it's probably time. Five years isn't too bad.

There are two ways to clean a clock. The first is to "dip it in the soup", which is to say, cook it in an ultrasonic cleaner for a time. Afterwards, it's allowed to dry and then oiled.

The proper way is to completely disassemble the clock. Check for out of round bearings and rebush as necessary. Polish the pivots on a lathe. Restring if the gut has become brittle. And then reassemble and oil.

The strike mechanism is going to need some attention. The right solution is to cut a new snail and rack tail. But maybe they can salvage the old parts, I can't know without tinkering. There's also a gear mounted under the snail, which must have driven some sort of complication...maybe a moonphase or calendar dial. I can't see any other parts related to it, so maybe that needs some thought as well.

How much this will cost, I don't want to guess. Clock repair is a dying trade, and I don't want to undercut anyone, especially since I really can't inspect the job.

Oh man, too bad Carlton Hughes isn't among us anymore. Expert clock repairman he.

2nd response: Is there a raven quothing anything in the background? http://s1.bimmerfest.com/forums/imag...lies/icon9.gif

Mxfrank - very interesting food for thought. Not sure what I am going to do at the moment but I will follow up later.

Much appreciated.

Mxfrank - you were right. I found the broken piece on the inside ledge of the clock. So all I need to do is get someone to resolder these two pieces together.

Since you seem to know what you are doing, any chance you could make this solder repair? Do you think that I might just epoxy it or maybe use JWeld? Not sure.

See pic.

PS - the string that you saw in the gearing turned out to be the desiccated body of a small spider as if he had molted.

Thanks.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psrajgvp3r.jpg

Looks repairable and I would reinforce the joint area if practical. Unless by observation there is a chance it failed by something jamming up.

Better to lose a soft solder joint again than have issues with other parts. At least the old girl is going to chine again properly..

Assumptions are dangerous of course as it could have been soldered before with something like five percent silver solder.

I think what should be done is to drill two holes and install pins to give it some mechanical support. I could do this, but without the clock I wouldn't be able to tell if the part was set at the right depth and angle. But PM me if you can't find someone local.

Forgot to say: the words "epoxy" and "clock" should never be used in the same sentence. The solder repair is a bit of a kludge, but at least it's metal.