The importance of a good pulley in the movement’s performance is way undervalued, mostly because one cannot see the inside of the stirrup. There are usually large amounts of grime build up. Also, the sleeve needs polished. This…
Author: butterworthclocks
Kieninger Interchangeability
It may not be realized that the flagship KSU models have an economy version in the MSU. The price difference is more than $100. If you have a customer that balks at the replacement price of the KSU…
The Hermle Chime Locking Cam
Every movement or maker has its weak point. With Hermle it was the chime locking cam. It was used on all of the chiming movements. The above photo shows the 1161 grandfather unit and the below on the…
Adjusting the Chime & Strike Unlocking Height On Kieninger Units
Shown below is a typical Kieninger grandfather unit. It may be a KSU or MSU Type but the action is all the same. On occasion, especially after some wear occurs, the locking lever does not lift high enough…
Moving Moon Dials & Some Problems Associated with Them
Most professionals are familiar with the moving moon dial. A Hermle dial is shown on the right. The moving moon portion first appears prior to the year 1700. The point was to alert travelers to when there would…
The Hermle 1151-053HK2S Double Plate Movement
This was very popular in the 1980’s and was used mostly by Ridgeway Clock Company, but others as well. It is one of my favorites. The dial has not only a seconds feature but also date, date, and…
Setting the Winding Stops & Cable Length On the Kieninger KSU & MSU Units
The following pictures show a fully wound cable for the KSU unit on the left and the MSU unit on the right First, I will mention that for both units the cable should extend approximately 7.5 inches below…
Cable Keepers
Folks are always asking about where to get them. Our TrueSound quartz come in soft plastic. Very easy to cut with a hacksaw to cut into parts and that cut a slit to run the pulley into and…
Chime Warning Wheel
I had written before about the fact that not enough run on the chime warning wheel can cause the 4th quarter chime to not activate. As a result it can skip every other hour in chiming properly. Yesterday,…
The Hermle & Urgos Floating Balance
I see the question on how to adjust the depthing on the balance for ideal operation coming up on various chat lines. Shown below is the best explanation I have seen on how this is accomplished. The material…
Mark It!
My neighbor died unexpectedly during surgery awhile back. He was a hobbyist in clocks and watches (can you believe it?) as well as the local Lutheran minister. Naturally folks in his congregation brought him some clocks and watches…
Fire Your Customers!
I always think of the 4th of July as the summer season about a third of the way through due to the school calendar, and a time to take stock of how to do things better-meaning more profitably….
The Famous or Infamous Jauch 77 Series
At one time this was a very major movement model, if not the largest single model. It was used by numerous makers, but the largest was the Emperor Clock Company of Fairhope, Alabama. Emperor during the 1970 period…
Returns
This is always an unhappy subject for both the customer and the supplier, but sooner or later they happen for whatever reason. I bring this up because of a return we just received. Clearly it is understood how…
An Interesting Chinese Knockoff
This movement actually came to us by way of a local repair. The owner made this kit clock in 2014 and this movement was part of it. At first glance in the top photo it appears to be…
German Movement Modifications
Here are a few catchall items that I think can be helpful. I always assume that everyone knows these thing and it is a bad to make assumptions, so here goes: This is not complete but it will…
Adjusting the Pendulum Hanger on the TrueSound™ Chiming Quartz
The distance between the magnet on the hanger and the coil on the movement will determine the strength the swing. The above photo shows the back of the movement. Before installing the movement in a case it is…
Clock Movement Stand
We have had quite a few comments over the years about our movement stand. It works quite well for everything from a grandfather clock to a cuckoo clock. If you would like to build your own I laid…
Suspension Springs
Folks often ask what is the proper suspension spring. Not just for modern German movements but for movements in general. Aside from using what is the factory original, the simple answer from a technical view, is the lightest…
Balance Movements & Beat Rates
For the past 10 years or so, Kieninger has used a revolutionary type of pallet material. It is glossy like plastic, but in fact it is 10 times harder than steel and is ceramic. In addition, it is…