Mxfrank - took your advice and it is now in the hands of a professional clock repairman. He says at least two weeks before he can do the solder. Says he could build up extra metal on the snail but would be costly; says for sure do not file the snail which is what I contemplated.

Your money would be better spent having a new snail cut than trying to improve this one. Just get used to the odd ring sequence, and let it go.

The most important question...did you have fun? I find playing with mechanicals to be very relaxing.

Yes, a real learning experience; and I get to put it all back together, try to get the thing synchronized so it rings the proper number of times according to the clock face, and slightly bend the rack tail so it catches the snail - terms I had never heard before this.

Meanwhile I get to figure out how to replace a sticking brake caliper on my 81 300SD while I wait for a starter spring to arrive for my Lawnboy mower - also nothing I have ever looked inside before - and I try to get it running again after twenty years (lawnmower, not the SD).

Has been a real pleasure trading ideas with you and I appreciate all the guidance and advice.

I just ordered some more self fluxing with the phosphorous incorporated 15 percent silver solder. I found as I got older I use many more ways to repair things than when younger.

Of course there are more approaches available today. Usually it always works out well fortunately.

What I liked about this thread was that I never repaired a clock. Nor that I have repaired everything by a long shot. Electronics has displaced much of the mechanical world in my time.

While I am not an eco-fanatic, I hurt to see things thrown away when they could be easily repaired. Case in point - I have a 1966 Lawnboy mower which I had contemplated putting out on the street for Atlanta to take away. I downloaded some diagrams from Mr. Google and opened up the mower. The only problem is a broken starter recoil spring. Ordered it for $11 and look forward to seeing if I can get it installed and the mower running again.

I do not need a mower; the yardmen have been doing the lawn for 43 years but I get some satisfaction in bringing it back to life. And I just might give it to Habitat or Goodwill (assuming of course that I really do get it to run again - has been probably twenty years since I broke the spring pulling on the cord).

Mxfrank - huzzah; the clockmaker called today and has fixed the rack tail. Ended up putting four rivets in it and it feels quite sturdy. $40.

He said to reinstall the rack with snail and rack at the one o'clock orientation and see if it strikes one; then check it at eleven to see if it rings the correct number of times.

However so far I have not figured out how to make the rack tooth match the snail tooth as you can see in the photo. I think the clock snail was at 3 and I lifted up the stopper on the rack and placed it in tooth three but it still did not work right.

Stumped for now.

Synchronization is automatic, as long as the geometry is correct. It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like the follower is possibly fouling the hour gear, but maybe not. If this is the case, the rack tail would need to be bent up just a bit to allow it to clear. Also reinstall the pin and washer.

Install the minute hand and turn it clockwise. At some point, the warning lever will lift and allow the rack to fall free. At that point, the tail will swing up and the follower will be in contact with a step on the cam. At that point, the bell count should correspond to the step (one of the diagrams I posted earlier showed the steps numbered).

Mxfrank - yes, I figured that all out. Here is what is happening. When the minute hand gets close to twelve and the rack detent at the top of the mechanism lifts, the rack teeth are freed and the spring (finally figured out to reattach the spring) the spring pushes the rack tail against the snail cam hour by hour and it automatically revolves the rack back so that the appropriate tooth gets caught by the rack detent.

However it acts like the spring is not strong enough because it will not push the rack back far enough; I only get to tooth 4 and cam 4. Nothing is binding. Obviously the spring is strong enough because it moved the rack all the way back to twelve every hour before I took it apart. Do not want to fool with the spring.


Therefore I think I need to oil, grease, or WD40 the spindle that I reinstalled the rack and tail mechanism on. I believe the dry spindle is keeping the spring from working properly. That way the rack and tail mechanism could be pulled all the way back by the spring. Unless I am missing something. When reinstalling the rack and tail mechanism on the spindle, I had to push it on quite firmly to make the rack teeth mesh with the rack detent. (Obviously all these technical terms are thanks to your fine exhibits.)

What do you think? Or we could discuss by phone. My cell is 6 seven ate-77seven-3five0nine. Sorry, do not know your name.

Adrain

No wd40. I have never found a worse long term lubricant. I know they sell tons of it.

To me the product is basically a very poor penetrating product primarily at best. I even suspect that there is very little oil used as the acid carrier.

So what lubricant is used on clocks? I have axle grease, lithium grease, and dielectric grease too. Maybe I will ask Mr. Google. Still not sure why it rotated perfectly on the spindle last week and now binds. Do not think the clockmaker did anything to the cylinder; all he did was rivet and solder the arm.


Quandary. Also wondering if there is any reason not to lubricate the spindle.

Mxfrank - are you out there?

Repaired. I used a bit of steel wool and 3in1 oil on the spindle and it seems to be striking OK now.

The name is faded out but looks something like Runnk Birkalun; Mxfrank had asked.

Thanks for all the invaluable help.

Looks good!

Clocks use a specialized oil, specialized manufacturers, with secret formulas. Traditional clock lubricant was made from a whale oil base. Obviously, this type of oil hasn't been available for many years. Nowadays, it's blended from synthetic oil. For this particular bearing, 3 in 1 is fine because you won't lose time if it thickens, but not for the pivots. The only use for grease in a clock is on mainsprings in spring driven clocks. The trick to oiling a clock is less is more. If you use too much, it leaks down the plate, and because of surface tension, all the oil will be sucked right out of the bearing.

The things you need to be careful of: set the time clockwise only. If your turn the clock back, you will undo all the work you've just done. And keep both sides wound evenly. If you don't like the sound remove the bell but let the mechanism work.

Sounds good again I hope. I could not recommend an oil earlier as clocks needs are beyond my knowledge. The 3 in 1 oil is a far better choice than the wd40 though. It is really oil with no bad additives that I can think of.

you'll find an array of oils here that would suit most needs. Clock Oil and Cleaning Solution

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hum.....
1987 300TD 311,000M Stolen. Presumed destroyed

Ha
This is fascinating

I have a grandfather clock that hasnt functioned in maybe 70 years i might try and screw with now after reading this.

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