New Addition–Kienzle 19th Century Clock

[achipo]

Picked up this cute little clock this weekend for a song. Didn’t know anything about it other than it moved, chimed, and we liked how it looked.

Got it home and pulled out the movement and discovered it’s a ~1890 Kienzle clock. Seems like a decent enough piece, but definitely needs some work, so this may be my first clock surgery and practice for the comtoise that I still haven’t gotten running. It’s running about 30 min fast in 24 hours, and the chime is an hour ahead. I’m hoping that a good cleaning/oiling and fiddling with the hour hand will set her right.

[achipo]

Here’s a pic of the chime…

[achipo]

…and a pic of the movement…

[mahlon]

ACHIpo, I don’t know what you paid for this clock, as I am not sure what a song cost but I like it. Can’t wait to see the progress and end results Mahlon

[arutha]

A lovely spring driven Vienna! This type of movement is what i seem to be working on most lately along with the round french movements.
Nice find
Paul.

[bernie weishapl]

Like Paul I have worked on quite a few of these. They are a fairly easy overhaul. Can’t wait to see how you make out.

[achipo]

Thanks gents. In this case a song was $68. From looking it up on the interweb they seem to go for $200 – $500 in good working condition?

Any tips for tackling the project? I’m a rookie watch person, and have never tackled a clock. The fact that it’s running fast suggests to me that the hairspring (or equivalent) is dirty? I think the chime offset is probably just that the hour hand needs to be repositioned?

Evan

[arutha]

Hi Evan, if the clock is running 30 mins fast in 24 hours then you might have enough adjustment on the pendulum, undo the pendulum nut so the pendulum is at its lowest position on the rod and then see what you get, if it is still running fast then you can try a longer suspension spring. If it is still running too fast then it could indicate that the pendulum rod has been shortened and you may need a new one. The only other reason for running too fast could be the escape wheel tripping through the pallets if the depth has been set incorrectly or you may have a short tooth/teeth on the escape wheel. Just watch it for a few minutes while the clock is running and see if you get the odd occasion when a couple of teeth get through instead of one at a time. If this is not happening then start looking at the other stuff.
Paul.

[achipo]

Thanks Paul! I’ll give it a shot.

[achipo]

@Arutha wrote:

Hi Evan, if the clock is running 30 mins fast in 24 hours then you might have enough adjustment on the pendulum, undo the pendulum nut so the pendulum is at its lowest position on the rod and then see what you get, if it is still running fast then you can try a longer suspension spring. If it is still running too fast then it could indicate that the pendulum rod has been shortened and you may need a new one. The only other reason for running too fast could be the escape wheel tripping through the pallets if the depth has been set incorrectly or you may have a short tooth/teeth on the escape wheel. Just watch it for a few minutes while the clock is running and see if you get the odd occasion when a couple of teeth get through instead of one at a time. If this is not happening then start looking at the other stuff.
Paul.

Paul,
Thanks for the tip. I was able to lengthen the pendulum bob enough so it’s within about a minute a day. Further tweaking should dial it right in.

Any suggestions for fixing the chime? The symptom is that it chimes correctly on the hour and 1/2 hour, but the number does not correlate with the hour, i.e. sometimes it rings once on the hour, and sometimes it rings 4 times when it’s 1:30. The chime does increment, so it’s acting like it’s running faster than the movement, yet still triggers on the hour and 1/2 hour.

Evan

[arutha]

Glad the pendulum adjustment got you somewhere near
With the striking, are you saying it strikes random amounts on the hour or is it constantly ahead/behind? If it is just out of sync then just move the hour hand round until it matches with the strike, if you are saying it might strike 4 and on the next hour only strike 1 then its time to get the movement out of the case and find out what is happening i.e. see if it is worn or dirty.
Paul.

[achipo]

Paul,
I need to study it more. It chimes on the hour and 1/2 hour, but the number of chimes is not correct. I first thought it was just off by an hour, but now I think something else may be going on. Only being home (and awake) a few hours a day slows the diagnosis process.

Evan

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