Many people believe a clock can be overwound, but there is no such thing. Occasionally a mainspring will get dirty or develop a light coat of rust. In most cases this will get these old wind-up clocks running again. I typically clean these old movements by first removing the movement from the housing, shooting some WD-40 around all moving parts (to blast away grit and solidified oil), then lightly oiling it with a very fine machine oil (such as sewing machine oil). It it has been adjusted most or all the way to the "fast" setting, more than likely it just needs a bit of cleaning and lubrication. A good indication that this may be the problem is to look at the fast/slow adjustment lever on the back of a wind-up clock. One of the most common problems with old wind-up clocks is that they get dirty and need lubrication. If it is on the back or the bottom, I simply glue the crack. If the crack is on the front of the clock housing, I then overfill the crack, sand it smooth, and paint the entire housing. I glue the crack shut, then fill any small gaps with more super glue. Super glue tends to work well on old plastics. The case on this clock was plastic, and I fixed the crack (not shown) on the back with super glue. Upon removing the case, I found the set of gears that had popped out of place, popped them back in, and the clock has now been running constantly (and keeping perfect time) for the past 3-4 years. It is an old General Electric clock from the '50's, and refused to run when plugged into the wall, On the back of the case was a large crack, indicating it had been dropped. The clock if the photo below is a good example. If a case is cracked or broken, quite often a gear train has popped loose inside the clock. The first thing I do when I look at a clock is to look for evidence of damage to the case. This Instructable won't make you an expert in clock repair, nor will it cover the details of clock repair, but I will try to go over what I generally find wrong with these old clocks and how I get them running. And, if it can't be fixed, AND it is of a style that is interesting, it can always be converted to a quartz movement, but I only do that as a last resort. What I have learned over the years is an old clock can generally be fixed - often very easily. Why clocks? First, the mechanical nature of old clocks intrigues me - I mean they have gears, and sprockets, and springs, and levers - all sorts of neat stuff that, when working as designed, actually captures the passage of time! Second, except for rare expensive clocks, when an old clock quits working, most people assume it is done for. I love to frequent flea markets and the challenge of fixing that which others have thought unfixable.ĭuring my outings I'm always on the lookout for an old clock, particularly old alarm clocks and mantle clocks. Those of you who follow my Instructables probably have noticed that I like to take something old and non-functional and save it from the scrap heap by giving it life once again.
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