striking mechanism problems

[rozeerox]

hi, i have a striking mantle clock that wont strike. Its a rack and snail system, now i seem to have narrowed down what the problem is, i just need some advice on how to fix it.
I think the problem is that the lift cam doesnt move the hour warning lever high enough to enable the locking lever. iv studied the movement and the hour warning lever only gets high enough to just touch the locking lever, not push it up slightly. apart from that i can find nothing wrong with it, but how can i repair that?

[willofiam]

Hi rozeerox, are you able to post a picture of the rack and snail mechanism, William

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Rozeerox and welcome to the forum!
Yes a picture may be of help as William suggests.
If I’m understanding your description correctly you may want to check and make sure the center arbor hole isn’t excessively worn. This can allow the cam which is mounted onto the arbor to drop down, preventing it from lifting the lever high enough to activate the locking lever. If that’s the case a bushing should solve the problem. If that’s not the case or if I’m misunderstanding your question then if possible please post a pic up here.

Enjoy Rozeerox and again Welcome!
Bob

[rozeerox]

hey, thanks guys for replying to my question!
I opened the mechanism for the first time last night in about 50 yrs, so its all filthy with dirty oil but underneath that is a good brass movement. i’ll have a look and take some photos for you to check out soon. btw, whats a bushing? i know… im a noob lol!

[arutha]

We were all noobs once and I know I have asked a whole multitude of noob questions
If a hole in the brass clock plate has worn so it now looks oval you need to insert a brass bushing which is just a new hole. This can also be shown up by a pivot or arbor having too much play in the hole. The original hole in the plate is filed with a small rat-tail fail to even out the wear in the opposite direction. A cutting broach is then used to cut the hole large enough for a brass bushing to be riveted in place thus getting the hole back to its original size. If you watch Bobs videos on clock repairs you will see various methods you can use for fitting a bushing.
Please dont ever worry about asking noob questions, its what we are here for

[rozeerox]

images as promised, however i now have another problem…. after putting the movement back in its case, the clock now ticks for about 4 minutes then stops. i didnt take it apart, and i didnt poke it anywhere i wasnt supposed to! so now i guess i killed the clock… but i cant think how??? all i did was observe. can you guys help me with that too please?

[arutha]

With those types of case fittings its easy to get the mechanism back in not quite straight. Do you know how to tell if a clock is in beat? The tick and tock should sound even, if the beat is uneven the clock will stop. If the clock is put in beat on a perfectly level surface and you then move it to a shelf etc that is not level you will find the clock will stop, each time it is moved from shelf etc to work bench you can guarantee 8 out of 10 times the beat will need re-adjusting.
Hope this helps,
Paul.
p.s. with the mech on its side like that its hard to see what is wrong with the striking mech, can you take a pic with the clock mech upright rather than on its side?

[willofiam]

Hi rozeerox, 😯 check all the levers to see if they move freely, if you can hold the works upright and trip the chime mechanism by pulling down on the lifting lever which is the one with the hole on the far right. This is the black lever that lifts off of the lift cam below the cannon pinion on the minute hand arbor. the rack (the thing with all the teeth) should fall onto the rack hook or all the way down to the snail past the rack hook depending on whether it is in strike mode or not. the gathering pallet (the brass oval with a pin and a notch) should allow the rack to fall free to the snail when setting up to strike but also should lock the strike lever by the notch that is in it when the rack is lifted to the end and resting onto the rack hook . the pin will spin and lift the rack to count off the number of strikes. Your pictures show it not resting properly. you probably know all this and I hope my nomenclature is correct but in any case I would emphasize the importance of parts moving freely. if you mess with this and study what is happening it will become more clear. Also remember before bending or tweeking anything make sure it needs to be done, otherwise you could chase the problem in circles as all these parts work together. it could also be that it is not running because something in the strike is binding but also as Paul mentions when testing it, it does have to be in beat. Hope this helps out and please let us know what you find out. oh and by the way, have a great day, William

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