Reply To: French Longcase Clock?

Update–Clock is ticking away, but not sure if everything is as it should be. I’ve been running it for a couple days without the pendulum mounted to completely unwind the weight spools, as the cables got twisted in transport.

The chime is a bit peculiar. It strikes the number of hours when the minute hand is on the 12, then again when the minute hand is on the 1. Is this normal, or could it be an artifact of running the works without a pendulum? It strikes once on the half hour. Also, the striker does not recoil on the last strike, so the chime is not particularly pleasing. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

The decoration around the face is held on with 4 brass screws and nuts. Unfortunately there are only two complete sets, with a third nut. The screws are likely hand made. While not correct, how bad would it be to replace the other two sets with brass screws and nuts from the HW store? I’d like to get the thing put together, so I’d rather not wait until I have the time to make two more on the lathe and figure out how to “age” them so they’re not too shiny.

Thanks,
Evan