Reply To: H.Miller mantle clock, putting in beat

[Bob Tascione]

Hi myclockrepair,
I hate when that happens! Everything works well when separate but when assembled it dies. 5 seconds isn’t too good. If the clock is clean and oiled and bushings are good then I would probably try checking the following.
First try removing the balance and with power applied to the train check to see that the pallet lever jumps over to the other side when it receives impulse from the escape wheel tooth. It should snap over and lock the next tooth with NO sluggishness. If that looks good then put the balance assembly back in and put the balance wheel into motion. At this point you’ll want to look to see if anything is hitting or dragging in the escapement. Check that the lever isn’t hitting the roller and that everything clears. Things tend to get bent in these assemblies. If you have a beat amplifier you can usually here when things are dragging. If all looks well then check to see that the hairspring is flat and no coils are contacting each other while the balance is occilating. Setting the beat is done by turning the hairspring collet either to the right or left. I believe beat setting is covered in the Watch Course in either Video 3 part 1 or part 2. I’ll check a little later if my connection gets better…it’s really slow down here right now and I’m not able to view any video… and I’ll post the location. If anybody finds it before me please put it up here.

Let see if any of this helps locate the problem and let us know myclockrepair. If not we can try a few more things,
Have fun!
Bob