From: Cyndy F.
Saturday, June 20, 2009 10:14 AM
I finally took the time to oil my cuckoo clock - I delayed as I wasn't sure it would work again. I'm happy to say that my 40-year old cuckoo clock is back in business. Thanks for the information on how to oil it.
Cyndy
----- Original Message -----
From: John Barnette
To: Cyndy F.
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2009 7:45 PM
Subject: Cuckoo won't run
Dear Cyndy,
Thank you for your questons. I'm going to cut and paste below my instructions on how to oil your clock and "jump start it so to speak. Also, I'm going to include instructions on hoe to tell if your clock has wear that is contributing to a lack of power that affects the running or stops the clock. Your sewing maching oil will do just fine.
How to Oil and "jump start" any clock including cuckoos. Take a paper clip, open it up and whack one end of it with a hammer. That end of clip that you whacked is now your oiler and you will dip it in oil and touch each hole coming thru the back plate that has a shaft running thru it. Use any oil you have around, razor oil, sewing machine oil, motor oil, or 3 in 1 oil. Just don't use WD-40 or any spray oil. You can see the steel of the shafts and usually there are indentations around it in the brass that help hold the oil. Now, here is the most important part. Trace your finger up the pendulum, follow up on that metal hanger and you will see a wire looped around the hanger and it goes up into the movement at a 90 degree angle. That sounds complicated but you will see it as soon as you open the back. I'm not talking about what the pendulum hanger wire is suspended from but a wire the pendulum hanger slips thru. At the end of that wire is a brass wheel with sharp teeth on it called the escape wheel. When the pendulum moves back and forth it lets off the power one tooth at a time. You need to take your paper clip oiler and touch a drop of oil to about every other tooth. Just move the pendulum back and forth to get the wheel to move. If it doesn't you may have to tug slightly on the chain. When the escapement dries out, the clock won't run long. Now that you've oiled the escapement put a drop of oil on that loop the hanger goes thru and on the very top of the hanger where it is suspended from and moves on. If your clock is ever going to run without professional help it will do so now. Equally as important is the leveling of the clock. You may get a little life from this, you may get a lot or nothing will happen. The oil in these clocks turns to gum and the brass filings mix with that and they start wearing those pivot holes you oiled into an oval shape from the gravity of the weight. Once those ovals get too wide the gears separate enough to stop the clock or slow it down to where it will barely run. I hope this will fix you up.
How to tell if your clock is significantly worn or not
Caution: do not lay the clock on its back or turn it over because the chains are only held on their sprockets by gravity and will come off. While looking in the back pull up and down on one chain. Another words tug back and forth on the winding chain and the weight chain of one wheel. Watch the back plate where the steel rods the gears ride on come through the plate. Particularly the 2nd gear up from the bottom. If that steel pivot rod is jumping back and forth in the hole then you have significant wear. Keep doing it and look at the other holes as you go up each train as you are pulling. If your case is big enough to get your hand in there just wiggle the bottom gear that the chain rides on. You will get the same effect. Usually the wear starts on that second gear but it is normal to have 2 or 3 gears worn that much on a clock that has been run a lot. The wear causes the gears to start separating and they don't mesh well. That causes it to loose power all the way up the train of gears. . Try the time side also to check for wear. If one side is worn, it is likely that the other side isn't far behind.
Cyndy, I hope this helps get your clock going. I get questions from all over the world and I like to help people help themselves where they can and at least be well informed as to what may be wrong with their clocks so they can make good decisions. Thanks for pointing out that my website is down and I hope you have a good week.
Sincerely,
John "Papa" Barnette
www.cuckooclockdoctor.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Cyndy
To: papa@cuckooclockdoctor.com
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2009 6:55 PM
Subject: Cuckoo won't run
Hi,
I am looking for information about oiling/lubricating my cuckoo clock. It is 37 years old and has never been lubricated . . . it is now in need of something as it will not keep ticking. As far as I can tell (having taken it apart), it just needs some oil. I have some sewing machine oil which I think I may use and wondered if it would work.
Good luck with your webpage!
Cyndy
