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How do I get a Mechanical Clock to chime on time?

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Mechanical Clock Chime On Time

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Mechanical Clock Chime On Time



These are the directions to get a German mechanical clock to chime on time. This means having the clock hands point to the right spot when the clock chimes. When replacing a clock movement, or getting new clock hands, either one, you will notice it will chime 5 minutes before it is supposed to, or 10 min after, something like this. This page explains how to correct this situation. It is unbelievably fast and easy to do.

Working with the minute hand



After a new mechanical movement is installed, or if you are just installing a new set of hands, it maybe noticed the clock will not chime at the time it's supposed to. To correct this, take the minute hand off of the clock. This is the longer of the two hands. With this minute hand off of the clock, turn it upside down and look that it has a square hole where it attaches to the clock. This square hole is in a bushing that will rotate WITHIN the minute hand itself.

The correction



So, all to be done is just use needle nose pliers to turn this bushing ever so slightly. Put the hand back on the clock and see if it’s pointing to the correct place where it chimed. If it is, then it all set and it will point to the exact place it is supposed too. If it is still not right, take the hand off and try again. Once you get the minute hand to point where it just chimed you then set to the correct time.

The conclusion



It is really that easy, there is nothing to do with the clock itself, only the minute hand. In other words, to put it in a silly way, take the minute hand off of the clock and walk to the garage with it. Take it far, far away from the clock. When in your garage take needle nose pliers and turn the bushing within the hand itself. Then walk back to the clock and put it on. See if it's now pointing to the right spot.

Clockworks Helpdesk

Clockworks Helpdesk

Clockworks Helpdesk

Clockworks Helpdesk

The content of this website is copyright by Clockworks and written by James Stoudenmire in year 2020

Last Updated: 2 months ago in

Updated on: 05/08/2022

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