Clock services

A clock overhaul consists of the total dismantling of the movement, inspection of every pivot and every bushing hole to determine the best coarse of action with the repair process. Sometimes with broken mainsprings there is damage to the wheel train on the pinions and pivots, all this is looked over with magnification.If the clock is antique a change of the mainspring is required as the springs are often badly worn and they loose they elasticity. Then we manually clean the clock parts with cotton cloth and pegwood to be sure we get off all the old oil that has solified and became an abrasive rather than a lubricant. This tedious proccess is then followed by pivot polishing and rebushing, where it is required . After all this, its time for the ultrasonic cleaning machine with the clock cleaning solution. Then rinsing is required followed by the drying process.Every clock piece including the brass plate will be polished. Then comes the rebuilding of the clock movement piece by piece and then testing for a week. If it fails the testing, all this is done again if needed. One year full warranty is given with every clock repaired.

Grandfather or Longcase Clock Repair

The clock is completely dismantled then cleaned and rinsed ultrasonically in top brand none water

based propriety fluids and then attended to in stages.

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Firstly all internal items i.e. between the plates, are laid to one side and checked for wear. These items are then brightened up by hand and any rust removed from steelwork paying particular attention to the escape wheel for bent or short teeth. Next we burnish any worn  pivots and replace those that are badly worn. The barrels are assembled noting any excessive wear and removing any old clock line knots left in the barrels as these can come out and trap the great wheel when winding. We have had as many as 23 knots in one clock

Secondly, we make sure that any oval holes are pulled back on centre and then the clock is bushed where needed after checking that no one has inadvertently moved over the rear centre arbor bush in  the past. This causes the hands of the clock to become in near contact with the dial face  at some point; we also check that the centre arbour extension itself is not bent as this can cause the same problem. Work shop made bushes are installed on clocks of high quality Bergeon brass bushes using Bergeon bushing equipment are installed to others. The internals are again installed and new bushes are broached. The clock is tested in the workshop: face up, face down, noting any stickiness and ensuring that the trains are free running. The pallets and back cock are fitted in place and the escapement is roughly examined and noted for its drops and wear. We remove the pallets again and clamp a gauge to the inner side of a clock plate to test the escape wheel for concentricity and make any corrections in situ with very fine needle files and papers. Doing this in situ instead of using the jewellers lathe is a slower process but we find it to be more accurate if the escape wheel is only a small amount out of true or has a couple of high teeth. Next the pallets and faces are attended to, polished and/or rebuilt as required, so that when the escapement is correctly adjusted the pallet arbour is horizontal to the clock plates. If the back cock has had its screw holes elongated then it is pinned to stop it moving. When all is satisfactory the clock is dismantled again and the clock plates are brightened up, the trains refitted, and the strike train is timed. The gathering pallet is left on in its correct position and the plates are pinned. At this stage the clock is oiled with quality clock oil.

Next all items belonging to the front plate are brightened up and any rust removed. The front pivots or stub arbors are refitted, then the minute wheel with its thrust. We then refit the hour wheel  bridge making sure that the bridge pipe is not binding on the minute wheel extension. Next the minute hand and collet is fitted and checked for the correct amount of tension applied to the thrust washer; also that the hand collet is of the correct thickness so that the front of the minute wheel is not binding on the back of the bridge. We also check that the reverse minute wheel is in mesh and in line with the minute wheel. The hand is removed and the hour wheel fitted checking for wear and alignment. All the strike levers have their working faces smoothed and polished and the rack and tail is checked for any movement. All items on the front plate are then fitted including both hands, noting the striking sequence with its snail and correcting any misalignment.

When all is to our satisfaction the gut line is fitted whilst carefully ensuring not to score the clock line. The seat board is fitted followed by the bell stand and bell. The crutch is checked to the suspension block and bridge. The clock is now set up on a test stand and run. After approximately thirty minutes the clock is checked for recoil and the amount of pendulum swing. The dial is fitted a day or so later after ensuring that the movement is correct and running properly. All clock repairs are treated in similar manor.

Home visits are a pleasure for us and we are happy to help with helping moving and setting up your longcase clock. We travel up and down in around 150 miles out of London. In case you are far away or an overseas customer please familiarizes yourself of how to send us the movement of your grandfather/longcase clock.

Please do not send keys, dial or chime blocks or weights as we have them here in the shop, unless of course it is convenient and it is a small clock. Please send the pendulum for wall , mantle and floor clocks. We do not need the case, the only time you should send the case is if it is a cuckoo clock repair. We are not responsible for any damage that incurred to the clock case due to shipping so please do not send the case!

To remove your movement to send it in for repair, take off the hands by holding the minute hand and turning the minute hand nut to the left. Then the minute hand will come off. To get the hour hand off just twist it and pull it toward yourself. Remove any weights or pendulum that maybe on the clock. Take the screws out that hold the movement, for grandfather clocks these would be on the bottom of the movement going up to the outside arbors, for mantle and wall clocks they would be toward the front or back of the case. The dial on most grandfather clocks are either attached to the case or to the movement itself. If attached to the movement, it unclips right on the back side of the front plate of the movement.It is not necessary,however, to dismantle the hands and the dial as it can be enough only to remove them from the case in case the dial is not attached to the case.

Packing up the movement should be done as to protect the handshaft most importantly as this is hard to correct if it gets bent. You should pack the movement up well with bubble wrap, or put the movement in a plastic bag and then use peanuts or newspaper. Then when the movement is all packed well in a box, pack it again in another box. Double boxing just makes certain that everything will last the trip well and with no damage.

We hope you can find everything you need. Central London clocks repair is focused on providing high-quality service and customer satisfaction- we will do everything we can to meet your expectations.
Repairs to:-Antique Grandfather (Long case) Clocks,Antique Fusee Wall Clocks & Bracket Clocks,Wall Clocks'Carriage Clocks'French Timepiece & Striking Clocks,Vienna Regulators,American ClocksAntique And Modern English & German,Striking And Chiming ClocksAll types of wrist watches,Pocket Watches,Brass Dial restorationMoving and Setting up