A customer of mine has a Grandfather Clock and from time to time it will stop chiming or striking for seemingly no reason. Most of the time he takes the clock/movements with him if there is a problem with a clock they've just bought (They buy antique clocks from time to time and he will get the clock working if it's not working, or on one occasion with a bookcase clock from the 1800's, he removed the complete movement out of the casing and replaced it with a battery powered quartz clock that has a Westminster Chime. Setting The Beat of the Pendulum Clock If the beat is irregular like: tock,tick------tock,tick- an adjustment must be made or the clock will stop. The fix is to immediately stop the pendulum and restart it, and it restarts in perfect beat. If you listen to the clock as it runs the tick and tock are not equally spaced - it might sould like it is loping along. When winding the weights up make sure the top of the weight can be seen when done. Some larger clocks have over wind protection to prevent this. If it the time between each tick/tock is uneven your clock will not run correctly. It was out of beat, and and I fixed that, Now it is working fine, but since the last oiling and cleaning is unknown, I took it apart and cleaned and oiled it. My Howard Miller grandfather clock (30 years old) goes out of beat every time it is wound (cable driven). If you listen to the clock just after you give the pendulum a push and notice that the clock is not tick tocking evenly, this means the clock is out of beat. Some clocks will not run if grossly out of beat. Setting your pendulum clock in beat. Grandfather clocks are both a beautiful and a useful piece of home decor. The verge clutch will usually allow the beat to be set by adjusting the position of the impulse arm until it is at the true center at … someone moved the hands to reset the time and didn't let the chimes go off like you are instructed to do when resetting these clocks. for example: at 3:45 the clock chimed seven times, not sure what our friend did or if we can get the chimes back in sync. If your clock is a chain driven grandfather clock, the chains should be in the order as in the image. Out of beat is a term used in clock repair that basically means the clock is going tock-tick, tock-tick, or ticktock, ticktock instead of tick tock tick tock. There are 4 things that you can check to see if the problem is something that you can fix yourself. Hi Jake, It may be that your clock is not in beat. Never turn the nut more than one revolution per day or you may overcompensate. I recently bought a grandfather clock at an estate sale. How to Set a Grandfather Clock. The clock must have an even tick – … When you turn the nut down, you are lengthening the Grandfather Clock pendulum making the clock run slower. This can be done by either try leveling again from left to right by moving the clock very slightly from the bottom until you hear the most even tick-tock. To understand what is meant by 'in beat' you need complete silence and it will help if you close your eyes to focus on the ticking. If a clock is out of beat the verge collides with the escape wheel teeth, and the clock eventually stops before it is run down. Most antique clock backs have a few holes in them, where previous owners screwed them to the wall to fix them in position. Listen to the tick tock and change the clock leveling to to the left or right until an even tick tock is heard. 2. This can be done by either try leveling again from left to right by moving the clock very slightly from the bottom until you hear the most even tick-tock. The verge clutch will usually allow the beat to be set by adjusting the position of the impulse arm until it is at the true center at rest with the mechanism and case set level and plumb. The Grandfather clock weights can get stuck in the high position if over wound. It is not important for your clock to be perfectly plumb, but more important the clock is in beat indicated by an evenly spaced TICK-TOCK. The grandmother and grandfather chain drive units often do not have this feature. If the pendulum stays in the clock it may scratch the inside of the case as well as change the beat and then the clock … How to Set The Beat of the Pendulum Clock TIP – Prevention: for wall clocks, always remove your pendulum before taking the clock off the wall. You also may remove the pendulum and move the crutch with your finger to the left or right until the proper tick tock is reached. A friend of mine just got a Howard Miller Grandfather Clock.
A TOCK-TICK sound is out of beat. Setting the beat of a grandfather clock is done the same way. If a clock is out of beat, the pendulum will swing for a few minutes, then stop even if the clock case is level. A Grandfather Clock must be stood on a firm level surface, if you have a deep pile carpet stand it on a board. Grandfather Clock Weights Stuck. It's not in beat. To determine if your clock is out of beat, start the pendulum swinging and carefully listen to the tick and tock. Setting a grandfather clock in beat is only worthwhile once you have anchored it to the wall.