The Articles
TING-TANG OR BIM-BAM?
The
Differences between Ting-Tangs and Double striking movements.
The main
characteristics of the so called Ting-Tang are that the clock strikes on
the quarters, striking one double strike on the first quarter, two double
strikes on the half past and three on the
quarter to. They generally then strike just single strikes on the hour to the
amount of that hour. They are more correctly called Quarter Chiming clocks but so are
Westminster type clocks and this is why Ting-Tangs have their own name.
This fine German ting-tang is in
my own collection.
Bim bam clocks are somewhat
different,
usually only striking on the half and the hour. The half hour with a
single double strike and then double strikes corresponding to the hour. More significantly, Bim-Bam clocks
have lesser quality movements than Ting-tangs but there are exceptions to this.
There are many styles in both types so there
should be a clock to suit everyone but you should remember that as quarter
chimers are more popular and usually better quality they are more
expensive to buy. On the other hand, don't be tempted
by the very poor quality, modern versions of the Bim Bam as they wear
out very quickly. Some of the best value Bim Bam clocks are the large Smiths
mantel type which are a substantial movement in very pleasing wooden cases.
As for Ting Tang clocks, there are many excellent examples, mostly of German origin
and in my experience they all tend to be of good quality.
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INSIDE OUT (part one)
THE MYSTERIOUS CLOCK REPAIRERS ART REVEALED
For those of us that have no idea of how a clock
works the sight of a clock movement can look like a random collection of
gears and wheels, a morass of brass and iron jumbled together in no
particular order. Many clocks that have been 'opened up' by Uncle Fred in
an attempt to put it right probably ended up with the clock still in bits
and some pieces missing. Even if uncle Fred put the clock back together it
probably wouldn't run well or even run at all. This kind of story has done
much to create a myth that the clock repairer cast some magic in his workshop, some arcane
spell before he begins work. Or maybe he has a golden box in the
corner where he keeps several tiny clock repairing elves that come out and throw magic
dust and the clock starts running once again. It is not magic.
If patience and careful working practices are
considered magical then magic it is, but it is mainly down to experience -
lots of it! Though the principals of how clocks and watches work remain
the same there are many types of clock movements and thousands of
different configurations of hardware between the plates. To the unwary or
the inexperienced putting a clock back together can be like trying to
finish the unfathomable puzzle. This
article certainly will not help you to become an expert on clock movements, it
would have to run for many years to do that but it should give to
an insight into what goes wrong and how it effects the clock.
Is it a clock or a box of
bits?
Being a clock maker and repairer
is a little like being a doctor, in fact that is what the repairer is - a
clock doctor. The first time he sees the patient he asked what the
symptoms are. Once the symptoms are known the 'doctor' has already formed
some opinion of what the trouble may be but more probing has to be done.
This is achieved by taking out the movement and assessing the mechanism
using previous knowledge, experience and an open mind. If the clock doctor
is to estimate a cost to the customer he has to be somewhere near, so he
has to keep an open mind to what the problem may be. If every time a
slow running clock came in and it was considered dirt was the problem, it
may transpire that the culprit was actually a worn mainspring and no repairer wishes to
strip a movement twice just because got it wrong the first time.
No mystery - just experience,
patience and good working practices.
As stated, there is no substitution for experience
and the clock repairer needs plenty of this if he or she is to have
any success but they also recquire a tried and tested 'modus operandi'.
The first job is to completely strip the clock,
this is essential if every potential problem is to be found, then all the
parts need to be cleaned so that they can be
inspected with a magnifying lens. Not all damage and wear can be readily seen
by the naked eye. Record keeping also plays its part, every stage has to be
logged for future reference as some work can take a considerable time.
Once the culprit or culprits have been
identified, the clock then has to be prepared for work. It is not
necessary to have 'operating theatre'
conditions but it is obvious that cleanliness is paramount. There is no sense in
cleaning the parts to have them become dirty again as you work and as dirt
causes wear it is important to keep it out at all times.
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INSIDE OUT (part two) - THE MYSTERIOUS INTERNALS OF CLOCKS REVEALED
Here we delve into the mystic art of the
clock repair in an effort to see what exactly goes wrong with our clocks.
Here we concentrate on the old enemy, Wear.
"My clock stopped running about a week ago, it's
funny 'cos it's been running for 10 years without any trouble. Can you fix
it?" This is how many clocks come to our workshop. We say 'yes we can fix
it and it will cost this much'. The work is duly carried out, the clock is
paid for and collected and everyone is happy. The customer gets home,
reads the details of the work on the receipt and has no idea what it
means. With words such as 'click spring', 'suspension', 'bushed holes' and
'fusee' it seems like the whole magical art has it's own arcane language.
The truth is that there is no 'magic' and every industry has it's own
terminology, it is what make them different. I used to work in the
entertainment industry where there seems to be an inordinate amount of
phrases, I was once told to 'look behind the treads'. A couple of hours
later after a frustrating time looking for 'the treads' I was told that
'treads' is theatre for 'steps'.
In an effort to help in this matter
this article should help you understand what goes wrong with your clock
and what the terminology means.
As mentioned elsewhere
on this site, the most common cause of a clock stopping after years of
faithful service is wear. Second to that is dirt or old oil, which causes wear
in the long term. So what is wear when applied to clocks?
This enlarged image shows a
badly worn hole
Every moving part (and there
are lots of them) in a clock is subject to wear but the most likely cause
of a clock slowing or stopping is worn pivot holes. What are pivot holes I
hear you say. Pivots are the extreme ends of the many shafts in a clock
that carry wheels (gears or cogs) and pinions. (Pinions are smaller gears
that usually mesh into the wheels.) Pivot holes are holes in the movement
plates which the pivots are located into and allow the shafts to turn with
a minimum of friction. As friction is the arch enemy of free movement then
if wear occurs in these holes then the clock will slow down. What happens
is that the pivot, which is hardened steel cuts into the soft brass of the
clock plate causing a keyhole or slot shape, this cutting action creates
tiny particles of worn brass which collects around the pivot hole and
creates a 'cutting paste' causing even more wear. Of course this action is
alleviated by using the correct oil but even the correct oil will go 'off'
after prolonged use and cause it's own set of problems.
Consider your
car, if you run it with the same oil in the engine for 30 years it would
certainly fail. If you ran it with no oil in it at all, the consequences
would be drastic within a few minutes. It is the same with a clock but
because of the relatively slow operation of the movement it just takes a
little longer to fail.
You are now probably wondering why the clock
plates are made of soft brass. The simple reason is that if the clock
plates were as hard as the pivots, the pivots would wear and repair or
replacement of pivots is always expensive. It is much easier and cheaper
to drill out the pivot and fit a bush made from bronze or the correct
specification of brass. The shafts can then run in new pivot holes as they
did when the clock was new. In severe cases the pivots themselves can be worn, this
is normally due to the clock being run long after it needed repair or
the diabolical practice of 'punching' the holes to make them smaller. Worn pivots, as stated
earlier are expensive to fix which is why regular servicing is advisable.
A magnified image of a pivot.
Notice the wear - the shaft should be parallel.
Another problem area in
which wear can cause poor running or a stopped clock is the escapement.
Once again we have a hardened steel anchor (this is the device which
interrupts the turning of the clock to create the 'tick', and the power to
move the pendulum or balance wheel) meshing into a soft brass wheel. The
strange thing here is that it is the hardened steel which usually wears
first rather than the brass wheel. When the escape anchor wears out it's
pallets (the hard working faces of the anchor) it leaves valleys or ruts
making the action of the escape much exaggerated which causes the 'beat'
of the clock to go out. This can cause bad or erratic time keeping and
eventually stop the clock. A worn escapement is never easy or cheap to fix
but is worth doing to prevent the escape wheel from damaging itself on the
rough edges of the worn pallets. If the escape wheel becomes worn
the cost can be prohibitive for the cheaper clock. Escapes do not wear out
as quickly as pivots but they should be checked and oiled every five or six
years to keep them running well and prevent damage from excessive wear.
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My Grandfathers Clock - Advice on keeping a Longcase.
The Longcase clock is quite often incorrectly
called a Grandfather clock, this name originates in the Victorian period
due to a song at the time called "My Grandfathers Clock" which told the story of a
longcase. The words of the song state that it was 'My Grandfathers Clock' not
that it was called a grandfather clock but over the years the inaccuracy grew until
a whole family evolved which includes so called 'Grandmother' and 'Granddaughter' types.
The longcase is probably the largest clock
you will ever own. It is more than just a clock, it is a piece of
furniture - an aesthetically pleasing object which tells the time as a
by-product, not by necessity. If we wanted to know the correct time we
could keep a much smaller clock that would state the time with more
accuracy and with less noise and would not require taking up half a room. So why do
we have longcase clocks? They are the epitome of tradition and all we expect
from an ancient timepiece. They look good, they sound lovely and in many cases have
been in the same family for generations, so are there any drawbacks?
There are many reasons for not having a
longcase clock but if you already own one the chances are that anything I
say on a negative side will have no effect on your love of the clock. That
is to be commended but this tale is a cautionary one, full of horrors and
pitfalls. If you already own an old longcase it will fit into one of two
categories. Either you acquired it through your family or you bought it
because you liked it. If you are of the former it is likely that the clock
has passed through various members of the family without any of them being
too concerned about the clock as long as it kept running. If it had some
repair in the past, particularly in the Victorian era it is likely that
the repairs were of poor standard. It may have had liberal 'doses' of oil
ranging from cooking oil to wd40 and may not have been cleaned since God
was a boy. The one saving grace is you may have some history of the clock
and it is more than likely that the clock is original.
If you are of
the latter group then you may have a whole lot more troubles.
If you
are the conscientious clock collector that knows his or her clocks (or you know
someone who does) then you may have bought a clock that you know is
good and complete and you probably had it checked and serviced. If this is you
- rest easy. if this is not you prepare to be shocked.
Of all the longcase clocks that we have
through our workshops, 80% of them have critical wear, which is to say
that the wear is so great that many parts have to be replaced. Of the
other 20% half of them are little more than scrap. Only a small amount of
movements that come through require a normal service and a few repairs to
get them running well once more. With that said this does not mean that
the clock you have is a pile of scrap, far from it. This figure is taken
from just the clocks that come through the workshops which means they had
stopped or were not running
well. If your clock is running well then it is probably fine, but if
you know it has not had a service for many years it may well be
time to let someone have a look at it. Just in case.
You may say that a clock repairer will say
that, after all we are in the business to make a living, but think of it
this way. A service will cost a fraction of replacing gears and shafts and
you will also have the piece of mind of knowing the clock is fine. On the
other side of the coin, as the 'clock doctor' I do
not look forward to telling the owner that the patient is about to expire.
It is much easier to tell them that the patient has been unwell but after
a short course of treatment will be back to it's former self.
A good example of this is a clock brought in
due to the fact that it stopped some years ago and the owners were tired
of seeing the clock stood, looking good but not running. It was brought to
us and we had some very bad news for them. Firstly, the movement wasn't
the original to the dial and had been altered to fit but in doing so had
caused the clock to run with a shaft rubbing against part of the bracket.
This had caused damage. There were also some horrible repairs that had
been undertaken, called 'punching'. Punching is a diabolical practice
sometimes perpetrated by amateur repairers and unfortunately by a few poor
'professionals'. This 'punching' is a 'quick fix' which if not attended to
very shortly can wear out the shafts, a very expensive job to put right.
It is a very common sight on longcase clocks, very few do not have a least
one hole which has been punched. There was also a great deal of wear on
the pinions (gears) of this clock which all-in-all brought me to the
conclusion that there were no options for the clock. The cost of repair
outweighed the worth of the clock. If the movement had been the original
it may have been worth repair but as it was an ordinary 30 hr, we advised
the customer to scrap the movement. It is rare that I advise this but in
some cases repair is pointless.
The movement was scrapped and a replacement movement was found which at least
will keep the clock as a working piece, but consider if the movement had been
the original? Replacement would have seriously effected the worth of the clock.
This greatly enlarged image
shows the horrible practice of 'punching'.
I think overall the
problem revolves around the way the clock is acquired. If you went out and
spent £3000 on a 1780 longcase you would want to know that the clock was
in good order. Few people would dream of handing over that much cash
without knowing the clock was in tiptop shape. On the other hand, if you
acquired the clock through inheritance you may not be so choosy about how
well the clock works or how dirty the movement is simply because it either
cost little or was free. Yet to have a longcase overhauled may cost a
great deal of money irrespective of how you acquired it.
In
conclusion, don't be put off by these problems. A longcase clock can give
a vast amount of pleasure and can be an investment. If you are looking to
buy one make sure you ask someone who really knows to check the clock over
and don't assume the cheap example in the auction room is a good buy, if
it's only attracting low bids there is probably a reason. Generally,
auction rooms know virtually nothing about clocks, the best ones to go for
are those auction rooms which specialise in clocks but they tend to sell
the better and more expensive examples. Look for a clock that is original,
has a well kept case without worm and is complete and working. If it
doesn't work don't buy it. When you are sure you have the right clock then
have the movement serviced and then find out the correct way to set the
clock up. This done the clock should cost you very little over the years.
If you have
a longcase that you know has not been serviced for some years, think about
having it done before the 'rot' sets in. Most of all, enjoy your clock -
and don't have nightmares.
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THE RIGHT
TIME TWICE EACH DAY! - A Closer Look at Why Clocks Stop
When the clock repairer tells you that your clock
has stopped because it needs a service, he may not be telling you much of
the details but he could be sparing you a lot of 'odd' terminology and
several hours with a clock glossary. Here we try to explain in detail why
clocks stop and what has to be done to get them going.
The most common
cause is dirt, closely followed by wear. If we deal with dirt first, it is
true to say that dirt effects the pivots (the ends of the shafts in the
movement) more dramatically due to the fact that the friction at this
point stops the clock so easily due to the gearing of the clock. Dirt in
this area is caused by several things, old oil that has not been changed
for some years compounded by dust and fragments of worn brass from the
pivot running in the hole. This mud solidifies and stops the clock. Dirt
can also cause problems on the escapement in the same way. Though dirt on
other parts of the clock are not so dramatic and are unlikely to stop the
clock, a build up of dirt can cause wear to the gears over long periods. At one time people
used to put a small tray of oil soaked cotton wool in the clock
case to 'attract' the dust but whether this actually helped remains debatable. The only true
way to prevent problems from dirt is to service the clock regularly.
A fusee movement ready for strip
down - The dirt can clearly be seen.
The clock repairer looks at the clock movement as
any other engineer would look at a machine. To clean it properly it has to
be stripped down, and certainly this is the only way to check for wear.
Once the clock is completely stripped, all the parts and the
clock plates are cleaned thoroughly and then examined under a powerful lens for damage
or wear as well as total cleanliness. When all repairs have been finished then the
clock plates are polished and the movement rebuilt ready for bench testing.
A small French movement being
stripped prior to cleaning.
A clock that stops through wear can be somewhat
more complicated and costly. If the pivot holes are worn this is a simple
job of bushing the hole and cleaning up the pivot, a worn escape can be a
whole lot more complex. The heart of the clock is the escapement, a
rocking anchor-shaped interrupter that meshes into an escape wheel. If
this mechanism has a problem then it is likely that the clock will not
run, or at least be erratic. New anchors can be made as can new escape
wheels but then the two have to be 'married' together so that the clock
works at optimum levels. This you might say is where the fine tuning of a
clock is done. A well set up spring driven clock can be made to run as
well as a weight driven or fusee clock that is not set up so well.
One
area which can be very problematic when wear occurs is the main spring.
Main springs gradually work harden with age and become brittle, also the
end of the spring can tear off their arbours. If for any reason the spring
fails at full or even half wind, it can be catastrophic for the clock, stripping
teeth from gears and leaves from pinions - even shearing off pivots. It is
best to have your springs changed every time the clock is serviced, they are not
very expensive and can be fitted easily when the clock is dismantled.
Clock wheels (gears) last for a great many years
without trouble but eventually everything wears out. Wheels can be quite
expensive to replace as are spring barrels which
also carry teeth so regular maintenance with help preserve their condition. The wrong thing
to do is to oil the gears in the hope they will last longer. The
oil attracts dirt and the dirt wears them out quicker than ever.
There are other things that can stop your clock
such as bent shafts or broken suspension springs but a broken suspension
spring is obvious to see as the pendulum will drop from
the clock and bent shafts usually occur from broken mainsprings. With non pendulum clocks
the balance springs can give trouble when dirty and platform escapements need to be kept
scrupulously clean if they are to last more than a few years.
An 1860's longcase movement
cleaned and polished, ready for reassembly.
In conclusion, most problems of wear and dirt
come from lack of maintenance or using the wrong or dirty oil. A clock is
a robust instrument, not as delicate or sensitive as people think but it
does need a little love and attention. Think of it this way - you will
miss it when it's gone.
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