Sessions Mantle Clock Strike Train Won’t Stop

[wingman]

Hello Forum

I’ve recently overhauled an old (I guess they all are) Sessions mantle clock. I had to replace the brass spring wires that put pressure on the lift and count levers. I can’t seem to get the clock to stop striking. I’ve adjusted the timing to ensure the count lever drops into the deep notch in the count wheel at the same time as the locking lever falls into the locking cam. I’ve spent hours trying to figure out whats wrong and why the count lever will not stop the strike mechanism. Everything appears to be in the right place and timed correctly. Any suggestions?

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Wingman,
I think you’re probably very close to having everything set up correctly. Things might be just a little out of sync though. You stated that the count lever drops into the deep slot of the count wheel at the same time that the cam lever drops into the cam slot which is what you want. These two conditions must also be in sync with the stop pin on the warn wheel hitting the stop lever.
The count lever dropping into the deep slot, the cam lever dropping into the cam slot and the stop pin hitting the stop lever must all occur simultaniously. If you’ve done this and it works fine when applying power to the warn wheel by hand or when the clock is slightly wound but has a run away strike when more power is applied then you may have one of three things happening.
If the stop lever spring is too weak then the strike may work fine when running slow (low power) as the lever has enough time to drop down in front of the stop pin and stop the train. When fully wound though the train may move faster than the lever can drop allowing the stop pin to pass by the locking lever before it’s able to drop in front of the pin…. resulting in a run away strike. The spring wire will move the lever down faster than gravity alone and will also be more consistant especially as the clock becomes dirty over time. It’s also important not to make the spring wire too strong as this can also cause problems. Bouncing levers can also be a problem as they may drop down, hit bottom and bounce up allowing the pin to pass. This bouncing can be controled with spring tension.
If the spring pressure seems adaquate then you may need to move the warn wheel back a tooth or two. Sounds like you just need a little fine tuning and you’ll have it.

Please let me know if this was of any help Wingman.

and as always Have Fun!

Bob

[wingman]

Thanks Bob

I’ll try that. I didn’t think the warn stop worked at this point but it makes sense.

[wingman]

Thanks Bob

Success! I had another look at the clock and still didn’t get it. I went back to your video and there it was! I was overlooking the stop lever/stop pin timing as you suggested.

Cheers

[Author]

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