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October 31, 2012 at 10:32 am #48408
I am working on a very basic time and strike German movement from a Sears and Roebuck mantle clock. The movement is clean and oiled but will not run more than a few minutes and then it drops out of beat and stops. The ecapement is a recoil and seems to work well for a short period of time and then it stops. The mainspring is new and if I remove the verge the time train runs very smoothly. It seems to have plenty of power.The verge is adjustable and I have been moving it to see if I can get it to run for a longer period of time. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you.
Ed Stanek
October 31, 2012 at 8:49 pm #52358I’m just guessing here as I’m still a bit of a newbie but many German movements use a slip connection between the verge and the shaft it is mounted on. Some of these friction-connections are rubber or neoprene. Do not get any oil on these! If the joint is “rubber” you could try soaking it in alcohol or some other solvent to remove any oil.
You should oil the escapement and verge as usual but must be careful not to get oil on the friction connection. Since you can’t bend the crutch like you can on an American time and strike the friction connection enables you to put the clock in beat anyway. My Urgos UW66 uses the rubber or neoprene connection but my Asian replicas use metal pins instead. I don’t think the pins would be bothered as much by oil, if they were they are easy to clean.
Worn bushings on the escape wheel pivots will also give you fits when it comes to putting the clock in beat as it can change the geometry of the verge.
Be patient, there are some very helpful people on here. Hope this helps.Kenny H
November 1, 2012 at 1:45 am #52359Are the escape wheel pivot holes ok? If they are worn it can cause the clock to go in and out of beat and eventualy stop?
November 1, 2012 at 10:11 am #52357The pivot holes look OK. Thanks.
November 1, 2012 at 11:33 am #52360An added note. I installed a bushing on one of the pivot holes for the escape wheel. The new bushing looks to be correctly located, but I used the smallest bushing I had and it may be a size too large. Would that be enough to cause the movement to slip out of beat?
November 1, 2012 at 12:36 pm #52361The escape wheel should be tight enough that it can just turn freely and nothing more, if you have any and I mean any sort of side to side play it can cause the clock to run in and out of beat. The escape wheel will run up the side of the pivot hole and drop back down causing irregular running. This is one of the most critical things in getting a clock to run well, you dont have the usual tollerence of 5 degrees tilt as you do with the other wheels when checking the pivots in the holes.
Hope this helps and hope I have explained it clearly enough.
Paul.November 2, 2012 at 5:47 am #52362Paul, thanks again for your help.
Ed
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