Home Forums General Discussion Forum New Addition–Kienzle 19th Century Clock

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #48989
    achipo
    Participant

      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.

      #57208
      achipo
      Participant

        Here’s a pic of the chime…

        #57209
        achipo
        Participant

          …and a pic of the movement…

          #57210
          mahlon
          Participant

            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

            #57211
            arutha
            Participant

              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.

              #57212
              bernie weishapl
              Participant

                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.

                #57213
                achipo
                Participant

                  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

                  #57214
                  arutha
                  Participant

                    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.

                    #57215
                    achipo
                    Participant

                      Thanks Paul! I’ll give it a shot.

                      #57216
                      achipo
                      Participant

                        @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

                        #57217
                        arutha
                        Participant

                          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.

                          #57218
                          achipo
                          Participant

                            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

                          Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
                          • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.