All mechanical clocks will need to be cleaned periodically. Most manufacturer's suggest that a mechanical clock be re-oiled every 2 to 3 years and that they receive a good cleaning every 10 years or so. At Clock Repair Service, we will remove the movement from the case and run the movement through an Ultrasonic cleaner to remove most of the old dried out and dirty oil in your clocks movement. In some cases, we will remove the winding springs and run them through the Ultrasonic cleaner as well. After the clock has been cleaned, we can inspect the clocks movement for any wear. If the clock has been well cared for and has been cleaned regularly, than a good cleaning is all the clock will need. We will then re-oil the movement, make any adjustments, re-install the movement, adjust and calibrate the clock. We will then test the clock for accuracy.
Clock Repair
Fig #1
Re-bushing a movement
After the movement has been thoroughly cleaned in the Ultrasonic cleaner, we are able to inspect the movement for worn "bushings". A bushing is a small precised size hole drilled into the brass plates that make up a movement. The tip end of a gear will penetrate the hole. Throughout time, the bushings will become worn and oblong shaped and the tip will "flop" around inside this hole. Often the hole will wear so that the point will get wedged into the worn spot. This is what stops a clock. Several of our customers will tell us that the clock was "wound too tight"; however, what really happened is the springs that run the clock is pushing the tips into this worn spot or the tip is flopping around and the clock stops running.
Clock Repair
Fig # 2
"A worn out bushing"
This is an example of a worn bushing. If you look at the hole in the center closely, you will see the bottom right hand corner is the original hole or bushing and the upper left corner is where the tip of the gear has worn the hole in an oblong shape.
When this problem occurs, the movement will be dismantled and the hole will be drilled out to a larger size. Then a new bushing will be inserted into the movement allowing for the tip to fit into the new properly sized bushing.
Not all of the bushings wear out in a clock, but it only takes one to stop the clock from operating properly. Depending on what clock you have will depend on how many bushings your clock has. Some clocks could have as few as 6 bushings; ,however some might have as many as 20 plus.
All the bushings in a clock need to look like Fig #1 in order for the clock to work at its peak.