Gonging Issues

[shermarie]

Hello all,
I’m having some gonging issues with a Terry Clock Co. Kitchen/Parlor clock. The first and second strike sounds ok but then it speeds up
way to fast…sounds terrible. I’ve adjusted the fly as much as I know how (can’t find any info on adjusting one) I’m not sure how tight they are suppose to be. I read on another forum that the spring on the gong lever may be tightened to slow it down?? Why would the first 2 strikes sound ok then go to fast? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Sherry

[willofiam]

Hello Sherry, That is a interesting issue you have there. It should be the fly, what type of adjusting are you already doing to it? Can you supply a bit more information and maybe a photo or 2. Also @Shermarie wrote:

I read on another forum that the spring on the gong lever may be tightened to slow it down

that is just going to add pressure to the hammer lifting piece and cause more friction that the power of the strike train needs to override….In my opinion this would not be a proper adjustment.

[shermarie]

Hi William, The first time I put it together it made an awful tinny whirling type noise so after I didn’t find any info I just bent the ears of the fly to tighten it on the shaft, but it would loosen up right away and like slip (is what I’m assuming) Soooo I put it in my vise and squeezed! maybe not such a good idea? But it did get rid of the noise. Still chimes to fast though. Something that I did along the way did slow it down somewhat. Was not sure if I was going after the right thing. So now it is confession time 😳 , I know that I screwed up the fan I put little rips in it where the shaft goes through, It is really thin compared to the new fans I ordered. But cannot get any of them on the shaft, the shaft seems to big in diameter. I did secure the fly with a small piece of wire to make it tighter for the time being to see if that helped but, no. After this if you still want pic’s I can sure post a couple. I can’t post a short video can I?
Thanks for the feed back William!
Sherry

[willofiam]

@Shermarie wrote:

now it is confession time

dont worry about it, thats how we learn, best thing is to be open about it so you get good help, at least here on this forum…

Well, I have been thinking about this and I keep coming back to the fly. It should have a bit of resistance, not necessarily tight. The idea is that when the gear train gets to speed there is enough resistance or friction to govern how fast it will run, with the ability to move on the shaft with some friction it acts as a sort of slip clutch. The action is just a tiny bit of movement at start up and stopping of the gear train. Too loose and the strike train will run fast, too tight and it can cause damage to the pinions, pivots and other components. When making an adjustment to how tight the fly fan is, it really doesnt seem to work to clamp it with the arbor still in there, it just make a nice round space for the arbor to turn in and tension for friction is lost, wrapping wire is probably doing the same thing. I find the best way is to take the fan off, make an adjustment that will create more tension when putting the arbor back thru it, depending on the style of the fly there are various ways of doing that. Pictures always help. I think you can post a short video though we will have to get the thumbs up from Bob to be sure.

[shermarie]

Hi William, when I took the clock apart to clean I remember the fan being considerably tighter than the other 2 clocks I have sitting here I could hardly turn it on the shaft, is this normal? The whole chime side was a mess when I took it apart, such as the locking lever was riding on top of the cam wheel, There is one pinion that looks as if the tip of it is broken off, but still rides between the plates fine (?) I think. The second wheel that has the little pegs that catch the hammer lever as it strikes (terminology…I’m working on it ) all those pegs are not very straight if that means anything. One of the other wheels was bent. So I guess what I’m saying is that maybe something else could be wrong?
I keep looking, but I also keep going back to the fly. Guess I also wondered about the mainspring as the more it unwinds the slower the chiming is, which I suppose is normal…
I will take it apart to get some pictures, hopefully tomorrow. If not, within the next few days. You want pic’s of it together I assume.?
BTW I did take the fly off the arbor before I put it in the vice
Thanks a lot,
Sherry

[stevefitzwater]

if it is striking to fast, either the mainspring is too strong, or the fly is loose which is allowing too much power to get to the gong.

the slower first couple of strikes could be a result of the fan slowing the release at the start, but eventually it is over powered by a strong mainspring. New mainspring?

only a wanna be apprentice here, so just tossing a thought into the mix

[clockmanbill]

Mind if I jump in? I have found that if one of the gears have a slight wobble it may start right but pick up speed as it gets going, over powering the resistance of the wobble. Chuck them up and check if they are bent a bit. Just a thought.

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