Seth Thomas chime clock

[mclark3617]

Nice to know about the guitar string, i looked at it through a microscope,,if i can get the pics to come out ill post them, it looks like it may have alittle oil residue, but not much. Can you recall what string you used, and is it a finiky thing to replace?

[bernie weishapl]

Only hard part is getting the wire thru the hole on the other end. Once you get the wire thru I will bend a 90* on the bottom bring the wire around and tie it off on the back side. Once there I pinch the top 1a and bottom 1b (pics in second attachment) together slightly keeping the wire tight and bring the wire around the top and tie it off. You can see on the back side how the wire is tied off on the tabs. You have to open those tabs up a small amount and once you have the wire tied on the first take a pliers and pinch it down to tighten on the wire slightly. The reason for pinching the frame is once the wire is tied off the wire will be tight. That is one key when replacing it.

I looked at my wire stock and the packages for the guitar strings I use says 9 and the other package say 10 on the front of the package. Here is what I use.

[mclark3617]

I just did the spin test and it spun for a full three and a half minutes. The last minut it was only moving about 1/4 inch but i timed it to a complete stop. So i think im gonna move on to the movement.

[bernie weishapl]

That is good. I would say with a good cleaning you will probably get 4 minutes or close to it. Also if you do decide to put some oil on the wire at the jewels put light watch oil and very, very little. I think with a cleaning though you will be fine.

[mclark3617]

Ive got the movement out and the chimes seem to be working fine,,although it seems to be finiky if not level.
The clock itself seem to be having a power transmision problem,,,the spring is wound up all the way but when manually moving the pallet fork it doesnt seem like there is anything there. Im gonna let down the springs and see if something pops up.
Looking at the clock face there are three keys, im assuming it goes left to right gong, chime, clock?

[bernie weishapl]

I am guessing that probably a good cleaning and oiling would probably cure your problem. Those floating balance clocks are pretty finicky about being cleaned and good mainsprings that aren’t set. I have seen a spider web stop a FB clock with the web on the third wheel.

[mclark3617]

Ok, first of all please excuse my termanology,,im still learning. But i think i found something, if you can see in the pick were the roller contacts the escapement, it looks to me like its too deep, shouldnt it land on the taper?

[bernie weishapl]

That does look a little deep. You can close the banking pins on the balance which will effect the depth. Just go small, small steps at a time. If you give the clock a full wind the roller pins should give you a minimum of 180 deg of rotation both ways.

[willofiam]

@Mclark3617 wrote:

shouldnt it land on the taper

No it should not. the roller is actually a “pin” I think they would be called pin pallet, sorry its late, I will have to check but it is possible those are supposed to lock even further than that but I could be wrong..
@Mclark3617 wrote:

Looking at the clock face there are three keys, im assuming it goes left to right gong, chime, clock

Your time train is in the center, chime is on the right and the hour strike is on the left.
Have a great night, William

[mclark3617]

Ok, thanks for everyones advise. Ive. Oticed that if i take a peg and push on onw of the train wheels whe balance will come to life, so im hopeing for just a good cleaning. So now im gonna take your advise and study the movement, take poctures and watch the courses till im ready to take it apart.
Do i have to remove all the chime parts to get at the clock or not. Im guessing I should take them off and clean the also but im worried about losing alignment of something important.

[willofiam]

Hey McLark3617, most likely you will have some adjusting anyway, when I service one of these everything comes off, I like to make sure there is no goo or gunk hindering any movement of the lifting levers, hammers ect…there are times someone has oiled these parts and they become sticky over time. I find that these are easier to set up than a standard American time and strike movement because once the gear trains are in all the adjustments for chime are made on the outside of the plates, hope that makes sense. lots of study and photos will help. William

[mclark3617]

Well,,,its apart, and it seems to be lubed with a green greese, on the gears and pivots. I have pics. I could see greese on the mainsprings but not everything else. Or is what im seeing dryed oil?

[chris mabbott]

Looks like they’ve used animal lubricants (very sparingly as it looks dry) which over time, dry up and attract bacteria, the green is the feces of that bacteria, or they simply turn green due to some other occurrence. It’s common and nothing to be concerned about. Just give it a clean and use modern lube which doesn’t turn green

[bernie weishapl]

I like to use a good synthetic oil when the clock has been totally cleaned. When you disassemble the chime assembly and rods make sure you clean them well. I do not oil the chime assembly at all. In fact all of the lifting levers in front of the clock I do not oil either. I put a small amount light grease on the surface of the chime hammers where the gear lifts them for the chime.

On the pinions and gears I clean them with a small brass wire brush and pegwood. I always do this before cleaning to make sure all that old, hard oil has been broken up. Also looks like you will need to clean and polish the pivots. Like William every part on a clock comes off to be cleaned and inspected. After cleaning all holes in the front and back plates are pegged to make sure all dirt and old oils are removed.

[willofiam]

Chris is right on, the green is a good sign that things are bound up and need cleaning. I see this all the time with unserviced clocks, wonder what they were using for oil in the 70s and 80s on these, to be clear for Chris Bob and David…..the 1970s and 1980s 😆
William

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