News and advice

This beautiful tavern clock is truly a longcase clock – it towers above the congregation in a local Cambridgeshire church. It was made by Henry Jenkins in London, and probably dates to the early 18th century. The movement was cleaned and serviced, and numerous rusty taper pins (including one unfortunately jammed in the central arbour)…

Summer is a great time to be in the workshop, and I’ve been busy restoring a few historical clocks which had faults or issues to resolve. Firstly, this remarkable Edward Tutet bracket clock, with its excellent engravings, needed some help after getting its fusee line tangled up. Older clocks of this kind are often very…

I was delighted to have the chance to repair a noteworthy clock, from the boat house of the Cambridge 99’s rowing club. The clock is a ship’s bulkhead clock, retailed by Simpson Lawrence. It is an example of a decorative clock retailed by a jeweller or department store that used an off-the-shelf movement to keep…

A common question I hear is how to polish pivots, which are often scored or damaged by uneven wear. Especially on smaller pivots, it can be difficult to apply polishing pressure while the wheel is being spun, as the pivot itself cannot bear the pressure. The best solution is a jacot tool (a very common…

Spring powered clocks usually have one spring per train (e.g. one for the time, one for striking the hour, maybe even a third one for Westminster chimes). The springs are made from tightly coiled steel, and are very robust. They can only be removed using special tools. Please note: springs are extremely powerful and can…

The characteristic tick-tock sound of a clock comes from a part called the pallet, which rocks back and forth interrupting the movement of the wheels in the clock. If it’s removed, the clock runs as fast as the weights or springs can go, but the help of the pallet, the pendulum keeps it in check…

Longcase clocks (grandfather clocks) Longcase clocks make very grand and impressive pieces of furniture, but if they are not running then the story does not quite work. If your clock has a traditional brass dial, the chances are it was made in the 1700s. It is often a surprise how old grandfather clocks are, especially…

Clocks with pendulums are regulated not by some special part inside the clock, but by their pendulum length. Gravity acts on the pendulum to make it swing with a certain period, and if this is too short the clock runs fast – and vice versa, if the pendulum is too long the clock will run…

Clock movements usually look like this when they come in for repair. After years of being used, when they stop working many owners assume they are broken. In fact, the accumulation of dirt and sticky oil deposits is often so great that the clock springs (or weights) can no longer turn freely. The dirt suspended…

Sometimes people hope to avoid repairs by drenching their clock in oil – especially WD40 – but this causes serious damage. Clocks are designed to run without being oiled. Parts are made from brass and steel, and when polished correctly there is almost no friction. A tiny needle-tip of oil is put into the pivot reservoirs when the…