Two questions on Cuckoo Clock...

[Richard]

Wife found "the most adorable" (sigh) Cuckoo clock at an auction. This meant....that I got to drive roughly two hours away.....to retrieve it and pay for it. Get it home and of course, it's not working, though I think this fact was known when she bought it AND it was only like $20/30 so not a huge deal.

Got it home, she puts it into a drawer for six months...

Took it out a week ago and slowly took some things apart. I didn't disassemble anything, just removed the (entire) movement from the clock/box. While holding movement in hand and pulling on one (of only two) weights, you could see it operational. Pulling on the other weight would make it try to 'ring the bell' so to say.

I put it back together, did some research and saw they are supposedly "very critical" of being put plumb/square on the wall. Nothing is/was rubbing and the bottom line, if you push the pendulum, it only swings 10/15 'clicks' before it's done.

I'm about ready to dig into it again (with zero clock experience I might add.. but then, I also just got done taking her Jura Espresso apart (WAY apart) and cleaned everything by hand.... it was 100% not working.)

My questions:

1. (I presume this answer is "no") Is there a spring buried inside/behind the weights such that the weights keep the spring wound as the weight 'falls'? Or, is it the weight itself that operates the movement, which is my expectation.

2. What is a good oil to use? I've poked around a bit and found "Priory Antique Clock Oil" and when I go looking for it, see other oils listed, including some synthetics. I have no clue if Priory Antique Clock Oil is a synthetic.... but I might be easily swayed that a synthetic version of the correct oil would be better than the mineral version, hence my question.

I'm looking to oil any/all points of movement without disassembling the entire thing. Not afraid to take it apart, but would want to document it with video so I could see how I did it on putting back together and THAT part strikes me as a real pain in the hiney!

Then again..... what if I take entire assembly, get a large pot that will hold it and instead of taking it apart, dunk entire thing in a mild sudsy ammonia solution (like you'd maybe have in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner) and attempt to clean entire thing intact....

There does happen to be someone 20 miles away that advertises fixing/cleaning these things.... but I'm a highly curious type and love to take things apart, put back together and take on the challenge of seeing if I can improve them.

Yes, sometimes, to the items detriment I will admit but I figure that's how I/we learn!!

 

[dpauly]

Though I have no experience w/ cuckoo clocks, Richard (other than the one my mom had on the wall decades ago) I would suggest you thoroughly check out youtube. I tease my friends that I'm learning to be a brain surgeon by watching it, but in all honesty it is truly one of the greatest resources that's ever come along. Good luck.

 

[FordnMassey]

Hi,
I own one and have had reason to get to know the mechanism a bit. Hopefully this info is helpful for you.

You're correct that there is no spring. The ongoing power is provided by the weight. The timing is an escape mechanism and it needs to be level or it will tick unevenly TICKtock..... TICKtock instead of Tick..Tock..Tick..Tock.

Lube may be the issue, with old lube having gone gummy. Consider a soak in rubbing alcohol/isopropyl alcohol as it's not corrosive but will dissolve oils. Then relube. I used Singer sewing machine oil 20y ago and mine still works.

The weights may be an issue. Mine has 2 different patterned weights, but they work fine interchangeably on mine. But it yours may have been be swapped and too light. Consider adding more weight and see what happens.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[groundcover]

Had an old guy tell me that he put kerosene with a wick in the cabinet and that was all it needed .
had someone else tell me whale oil was the only thing to use and he still had some that he kept for just that purpose.

 

[Captain Dirty]

My experience is only with one grandfather clock that has been in the family for generations; presumedly other weight-driven pendulum clocks like a cuckoo clock are analogous. To expand on FordnMassey's explanation, the potential energy of the weight is released in discrete steps by the escapement mechanism that is connected to the pendulum by the pendulum leader. When the pendulum swings, one tooth on the escapement clears a tooth on the escape wheel so the wheel can turn, but the tooth on the other end of the escapement moves into the space in front of another tooth of the escape wheel, stopping it. This collision of teeth also provides an impulse that the pendulum leader transmits to the pendulum. As the pendulum swings back and forth one hears the charateristic tick-tock which should be even. The teeth of the escapement and wheel are specially shaped to reduce whiplash, unevenness, and wear.

The angular travel of the pendulum should be equal on both sides of plumb; if it is not equal, the ticktock..ticktock will be uneven, the impulses to the pendulum will be "out of beat", and the clock will soon stop. In the normal configuration the angular travel should be equal when the clock case is plumb or level, but it may be that the leader has been bent. To check for this, remove the pendulum and see if the leader, which should swing relatively quickly owing to its short length, stops. You can move the leader from side to side and see or feel if the angular travel is unequal (at least I can on my grandfather clock). Bend the leader by pushing it outward on the shorter arc side; test again to see if it soon stops. It may be necessary to bend it back slightly. Re-install the pendulum and check again. (This adjustment requires a little courage, but for a $30 clock has little risk.)

Good luck!

 

[Captain Dirty]

Regarding oiling clockworks, a man in our church who repaired clocks as a hobby said oiling should be done very sparingly. He said he had a tool about the thickness of a bicycle spoke with a flattened end that allowed him to put just one drop of oil on a shaft. Over-oiling was bad in that it attracted dust which could gum up the works or make an abrasive slurry that increased wear. He allowed that some "Starrett instrument oil" that I had was probably OK. WD-40 or other solvent-penetrating oils were a no-no. Since spermaceti oil is unavailable owing to the ban on whaling, it must be the best.

 

[von-mil]

If the clock is in beat (tick - tocks in an evenly spaced pattern) and if the oil has not dried up or it is gummy or turned black, you may have no choice but to disassemble the movement. Cleaning the clock plates and all of the wheels/gears by hand or in an ultrasonic cleaner is likely in order for this clock. Like you mentioned, taking it apart is far easier than getting it back together.

It is worth a try to clean the entire movement while it is still intact and it may very well put some life back into the clock. If you do, be sure to dry everything thoroughly. A hair dryer or compressed air will work. Open air drying may leave moisture which may not hurt the brass parts but will cause rust on the steel.

No matter how you clean the movement, you will next want to check for wear on the plate's pivot holes. Dried up oil, or dirty gummy oil will cause those tiny pivot holes to become out-of-round, ovaled or egg-shaped. This causes the wheels to not run true which will eventually cause binding or friction and the clock will stop. And it doesn't take very much friction to stop a clock. Worn pivot holes can only be fixed through disassembly and bushings being installed, giving you new pivot holes.

If you clean the movement intact by dunking or soaking, get it dried and then use an eye loupe or other strong magnification and check for sloppiness where the wheel pivots protrude from each side of the movement. Hopefully you will find minimal wear. It all depends on how many years the clock had been running and how well it was maintained over the years. A tiny drop of oil on each pivot is all that is needed. As mentioned earlier, too much oil is just as bad as no oil at all. The Singer machine oil suggestion is a good one. Sewing machine oil or other lightweight oil is what you want. A synthetic clock oil is ideal.

Good luck with the clock.

 

[Richard]

Wow.... good stuff (and thanks!!!)

Today is my first day back to work after the Holidays and I find tons of good info.

I've taken the movement out of the 'box'. It's a pretty simple thing. I decided to (attempt) cleaning it intact first. I know/knew nothing about the pivot holes....still trying to imagine them.

Wife has a Loupe (10x). Friend of hers is a jeweler. She said she might ask him if he'll dunk it into his ultrasonic. I said I might first put it into some kind of cleaning solution (not sure what to use). I was debating mostly water with some ammonia mixed into it (wife spent 30 years in jewelery business and that's what they used in their ultrasonic..... water and sudsey ammonia)

One of the bellows has two SMALL holes in them. It still toots but I'm presuming it would toot a bit more loud if it didn't have a hole for some of the air to escape. Watching a U-Tube, it seems some/most of this stuff is readily available for replacement.

I've ordered some clock oil. Using it sparingly was already on my mind....one can always add more if need be!

So in addition to taking the clock apart to see what can be done, in addition to taking her Jura E9 espresso machine apart and getting it back working, I also took her sewing machine "kind of" apart (there are a LOT of moving parts in there!) and got it fixed.... it was snapping needles and breaking threads, had a part that was .00104382304823023843943 out of adjustment.

Been fun tinkering on these very different items.

 

[ruffdog]

No matter how you clean the movement, you will next want to check for wear on the plate's pivot holes. Dried up oil, or dirty gummy oil will cause those tiny pivot holes to become out-of-round, ovaled or egg-shaped. This causes the wheels to not run true which will eventually cause binding or friction and the clock will stop. And it doesn't take very much friction to stop a clock. Worn pivot holes can only be fixed through disassembly and bushings being installed, giving you new pivot holes.

This is what happened with my grandfathers cuckoo clock and my families very old wall clock. The shafts with the most side pressure will egg-shape the holes. The wall clock my dad fixed with bushings but the cuckoo now just hangs idle.

 

[oosik]

No cuckoo clocks here but many wind up wall clocks. About twenty years ago - one of the wife's favorites quit. Went back to the clock store where it was purchased. They wanted $375 to get it back running. It still hangs on the wall - not running. It says 6:15 - soooo.... it's accurate twice a day.