It's been a while.....

Hello Friends!  It's been a while.  It's been a long while now since I've written anything in the blogging world.  It's been about five years actually and my how time goes by.  It's been a little over 5 years since the passing of my Dad and my taking the reigns solo of the clock repair business he founded as well as this blog that he started long ago.  He taught me his Trade, my Trade, and he taught me very well.  When I took hold of the blog I had the best of intentions of writing more often.  It didn't quite go that way though.  I've thought of it often but nothing has gotten written.  There have been many interesting things happen in my clock shop over the last five years that I would have loved to share with you all.  I've learned a lot of interesting things too that I would love to share.  Perhaps I will be able to share a few of those stories with you in the near future.  I've seen some really amazing clocks pass through my shop in the last few years since I've written.  I've seen a few clocks the like I never would have dreamed I'd see and given them a second life.  I've seen some very beautiful cases indeed and a few clock movements that were true works of art themselves, beautiful marvels of mechanical engineering. I've seen some awesome cuckoo clocks and had the great pleasure of restoring them to full working order and enjoying them for a short time while they test ran on my wall before flying my coop to go home.  I've been called on and asked to do a few house calls and seen some beautiful Tallcases.  Most of the clocks were fairly common I suppose but each one is special to their owner and that alone makes them truly priceless.  There have been hundreds of clocks pass through my hands just in these last five years. I worked on another few hundred before those in the years when I Apprenticed under and worked for my Dad.  I lost count long ago.  I keep records and I think one day I might count and see just how many there have really been but then I think I really don't want to know.  It's been a wild ride I can assure you.  Being in the clock repair business can be like holding a Tiger by it's tail most of the time if your really good at it.  If your not so good at it or an amateur that Tiger could eat you up and quick! Most of the clocks I've repaired in the last 5 years were very good patients and didn't give me too much trouble.  Some of the clocks were a little more problematic and put up some resistance to my efforts.  Some were real monsters and fought hard till the bitter sweet end.   Each one is different in it's own way.  It's a gamble with each clock you take into your care on what problems your going to run into and how long each one may take you to restore them.  That is something my friends that is not easy to explain to someone who is not a professional in the Clocksmithing Trade and lived it. In my opinion one of the hardest things to deal with in this business is the fact that few people can truly understand this even when the tale is told.  Few people can truly understand just how many hours upon hours might have to be put into their clocks in order to give them back running again.  Even the clocks that go relatively easy take a lot of time and energy if you do the work right and refuse to cut any corners.  You had better or they will be back to haunt you.  The ones that are problematic can eat up your time like a hungry wolf as the days pass by and turn into weeks.  The clocks that prove to be real monsters can suck the life right out of you and really put you out.  My friend Mike, a true professional mind you, calls the bad ones "Time Vampires" and boy how right he is because that's exactly how some clocks can tend to be.  Some of them really have a mind of their own and drive you crazy doing what they want to do but not quite what they're supposed to do at all times and they don't want to tell you why but you have to figure them out. Some of them are known to make finding out why they are being most difficult most difficult indeed too!  I guess those are what I would call the playful ones.  I love Clocksmith work very much and you really have too otherwise it could drive you insane.  I have written in the last five years, I've written quite a lot actually...but not in my blog.  My Dad believed in sharing information and answering peoples questions about their clocks.  I do too and I've tried my best to follow in his footsteps. I enjoy it even though it can be really taxing to do on top of everything else one has to do in this business, in life and in keeping oneself in good health so you can continue to work on .  I can understand why someone else would choose not answer questions related to their craft. I have people write to me with clock questions from all over the world and I try to respond to them all with good answers as I am able and if I am able.  I've missed a lot of questions too in the last five years, if you wrote to me and asked me a question that went unanswered I am truly sorry but I get so many questions asked of me I can't possibly get around to them all as I would have liked.  I stay way too busy in the work shop for that and there has been times here and there where I have just flat out not been able to.  When I began five years ago I had though and had full intention to answer every single one I would receive.  I've tried to answer the most of them and for sure the best of them and I hope at least I've been at least somewhat successful in that.  I've tried to get the ones answered that would help people the most and help those who truly needed my help the most and sometimes had to overlook and not respond to many of the simple questions I've received that the answer to could easily be found elsewhere if I could not reply and they sought the answer elsewhere on the internet.  I don't reply typically to questions whose answers can be found on the frequently asked questions page of my website.  I get so many of those it would make your head spin.  You would think a guy who answered questions about clock repair and had a FAQ page would not get so many of those same questions but it indeed happens to me every day.  In the beginning I used to respond to those with a brief response and a please see my FAQ page just to be helpful but that quickly became too much additional weight to bear.  I would if I could just to be friendly and helpful I suppose but I very seldom can.  When I'm writing answers to questions I'm punched in on my personal Time clock and working for free because I enjoy it and it's helps people and I believe that helps me. I don't answer dumb questions either.  I've heard it said that the only dumb question is one that's not asked but ya'll I am hear to tell you that is not true!  "Clock doesn't run?" is not a question!  It's a statement in fact but when posed as a question it qualifies for a dumb one in my book and I've gotten that one many times.  "Pendulum doesn't swing?" is not one either and I've seen that one too and both of them more times than I could count. I have so more funny examples I could share.  Maybe I can write about some of those silly questions in a future blog post along with the answers I would love to reply to them with but I wouldn't actually as it would be unkind besides the fact I don't have the time too regardless but I just know they would make a hilariously funny and interesting blog post.  I bet I could get you rolling on the floor laughing friends.  Bottom line is I stay very busy in the work shop and if you were to write to me and ask me a question that is not at least one complete sentence, well, you might not be receiving an answer from me anytime soon.  In the last five years I've met so many wonderful people by being in this business.  My customers are some of the best people you could ever hope to meet and I truly mean that.  I feel like they are all my friends in a way and I have actually made friends with a couple of folks and we talk often on clocks and such.  Don't get me wrong I've met a couple of not so nice people in the last five years too. I wish I could have seen them coming I would have kindly asked them to take their business elsewhere if I had known what awaited for me.  I've made many new friends and lost a few friends too in the last 5 years.  One of my best and long time friends passed away in 2013 from a sudden heart attack just a little over a year after my Dad passed from a failed heart.  He was a friend to my Dad as well I and a big part of the life here in the clock shop. I lost my Cousin Beth whom I loved very much not long after as the cancer took her quick. My Grandmother took on the Alzheimer's and it made a long two years watching her go slowly.  She passed just a little over a year back now.  My oldest daughter not only went through high school over the last 5 years she graduated with honors and left for college this Fall. I can't tell you how proud of her I am as well as my younger girl whose just starting as a Freshman at the High School now.  I along with the rest of the world watched a new President of these United States be elected in these last five years since I've written into the blog as well as a lot of other big events that have come and gone and are now down in the history books.  The clocks have kept on ticking the time away through it all here and I'm quite proud of that.  I wanted to write tonight on this pleasant September night to say hello to you all let everyone know that I'm still here and working hard at it and to let everyone who reads this know just a little of what all has happened with me since I last wrote.  It's hard to believe so much time has past actually looking back while writing this.  It is said Time flys!  Tempus Fugit and Tempus Regit are true I think indeed and applies to all including blogging.  A Clockmaker most certainly understands this I would say. Time flys, Time rules, and Time is money!  I hope it is not 5 more years slip past me before I write again.  I never intended the last 5 to pass by without.  I had hoped to write more often and do again now.  Maybe with a little luck I can write many times over the coming 5 years and share with you some great clock information and stories.  I'm not sure but I am going to try in hopes that my blog will help someone out there some day, an aspiring and up and coming Clocksmith perhaps or just anyone interested in clocks and or the Clocksmith's Trade. That would sure make it having been worth my time to spend writing if it helps someone someday.  It's been fun writing this tonight.  It's been very therapeutic actually as I've missed the blog badly and been wanting to begin writing again for some time now because it has indeed been a while.......

   All the best to you!  Papa           
    

A Love of Clocks

I have a love for clocks of all kinds. I don't just love them because I repair and restore them. I don't just love them because my father before me loved them. I love the fine crafstmanship that most antique clocks bear. I love their history and the thought of the many hands that have touched them and the many eyes that have gazed at them during their lifetime. I love the peaceful and relaxing sound that the make, a nice steady tick tock that reminds us time rules, time flys, and we are here but for a short while and should enjoy life and be happy making the most of our time. I love the sound of chimes that some clocks make as their tiny hammers hit the chime rods on cue to produce a melody like St. Michael, Whittington or the famous chime of the Westminister clock in London whose largest bell is known World round as "Big Ben" I love the cheerful happy sound of a cuckoo clock as the cuckoo joyfully sings his call to announce the hours and possibly music, dancers and other types of animations come to life about the clock. I love the accuracy of these man made marvels that take the power of gravity or a wound spring and transfer that power into a measurement of time itself. Clocks grace a home or office wall with their Timeless charm and simplistic beauty. Clocks have a life of their own and they seem to bring life to the room that they occupy. They remind us of a time when life was simpler or at least seemed that way. I recently recieved a clock that was saved from destruction for my Birthday. It is a rare clock made by a man named Riley Whiting around 1810 in Conneticut. Riley lived from 1785 to 1835, a mere fifty years and he only made his clocks for around twenty five of those. It's movement is all handmade from wood. Even the gears are made from wood I speculate from some of the first trees cut in the American forests. The clock came to me from Ohio so during it's life it traveled from the hands of Whiting in Conneticut to the West probably by wagon. It is two hundred years old now and still running. This clock should be in a museum now but it almost ended up in a dumpster. How many lives has this clock seen come and go. Sometimes I wonder if this clock could talk what kind of stories would it have to tell? Would they be good memories or bad? I'm sure each antique clock I encounter has seen it's share of hard times, watched life and death go and come, encountered joy and sorrow. So in a way clocks have a lot in common with people in my opinion. Sure they tell us what time it is, how many hours we have left in this short day we are in at present but are they really saying more to us. I think they speak of our mortality and remind us of the fact that tomorrow is promised to no one. Yesterday is History...Tomorrow is a Mystery...and Today is a gift that's why it's called the Present!!

Hello Friends, my name is John "Papa" Barnette II the Cuckoo Clock Doctor.  My Father Papa Sr. you all knew and loved passed away from heart failure at age 59 on May 19th of 2012.  Today October 2nd would have been his 60th Birthday.  This is a sad day for me in many respects but also a happy one as my Mother and I celebrate the short life of such a fine man we were blessed to know and share life with.  My Dad apprenticed me well in the Clockmaker's trade and for many years I have been his assistant in the shop.  He loved his Trade, his business, his customers and friends and cuckoo clocks so very much and did not want CCD to die with him.  I now carry on where my Papa Sr. left off as he requested when his "Time" ran out and his "Clock of Life" stopped as all of our clocks will one day.  We have great Faith in the fact that only Christ is the Great Clocksmith that will fix us and keep us ticking long after the movements in our frail human bodies wear out and can no longer be repaired and our hearts can no longer keep it's beat and our pendulums slowly come to rest.  I could think of no better tribute to Papa than to get his blog going again today and introduce myself to you all.  Keeping our business going without my Dad's smiling face and his bright shining happy eyes has been most difficult but the Clockshop is where I feel the closest to him and things look brighter everyday as the work progresses and the cuckoo clocks keep flying in and flying home again to their loving owners.  I have made many new friends and met many of my Dad's friends and this has been a big help to me and I am forever grateful to them, to my Mom Kathy for all of her support and love.  I am here to answer questions and give advice as my Dad loved to do and possibly even bring your cuckoo or other type of mechanical clock back to life again.  Blogging is new to me but I will do my best to keep up!

How to install chain on cuckoo clock? - Yahoo! Answers

How to install chain on cuckoo clock? - Yahoo! Answers:

'via Blog this'

Cuckoo sings the wrong time.

Papa, oh thank you thank you thank you!  I got my cuckoo clock back in sync!  Such a fast and easy fix!  I thank you with all my heart!  It only took a few minutes to do!  I was thrilled beyond belief to hear my cuckoo singing the correct time!

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Jessica

P.S. The chains don't hit the floor so I don't need to shorten them I think.  If we ever move the clock (which I doubt because it's in the perfect spot) I will certainly keep in in mind! Thanks for the hint!  I will be sure to pass it on to my dad because on his trip to Germany he purchased the one for me and one for himself as well.

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 17, 2011, at 3:58 PM, Cuckoo Clock Doctor wrote:

Dear Jessica, 

Thank you for your question.  I'm going to make your day because this is a real easy fix that you can do yourself and you won't even need your husband.  Don't be too hard on him.  The hour hand is simply a press on fit onto a tapered shaft.  The minute hand is the hard part so leave it be, but all you need to do is to know how many times it cuckooed last or turn the minute hand clockwise and get it to cuckoo.  Say it cuckoos 4 and the clock hand says 6.  Just move the clock hour hand to the 4 and then use your thumbnails and press down on each side of the hand right at that shaft.  Now you will have to set the correct time of course, but your clock is back in sync.

 

Another little piece of advice so you will have a long life with your clock.  If the chains run down all the way and touch the floor, either raise the clock or shorten the chains just a bit.  If you let it run down and the cuckoo weight hits the floor first, then the time will still be running and it can lock up a safety device in the clock to keep a part from breaking.  If this happens the clock will run and keep time but it will only cuckoo one time on each hour and half hour.  I just thought since it was new, and they probably didn't tell you this, that it would be helpful and save you from more trouble.  Enjoy your cuckoo, forgive your husband, and both of you have a nice weekend.

 

God Bless,

 

John  "Papa" Barnette
www.cuckooclockdoctor.com

 

From: Jessica To: Cuckoo Clock Doctor
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2011 10:53 AM
Subject: Cuckoo sings the wrong time

'Cause My Cup has Overflowed

This little poem was sent to me recently but I don't remember who sent it.  If you are the one, I'd like youto know how much it has meant to me.  Please let me know if it was you.  Thanks,  John "Papa" Barnette.

'Cause My Cup has Overflowed

I've never made a fortune,
And it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow
And I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Haven't got a lot of riches,
And sometimes the going's tough
But I've got loving ones all around me,
And that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings,
And the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
And the sun peeped through again.

So Lord, help me not to gripe,
About the tough rows I have hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage,
When the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy,
To help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.


May today there be peace within you. May you trust your
God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
"I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet
 when Our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."


When I think of how many people in this world have it worse
Than I do, I realize just how blessed we really are.
Don't be too busy today...
Share this inspiring message with friends and family.

"Love never gives up, Never loses faith,
Is always hopeful, And endures."

Have a great Day!  Unknown

Original Question from Pat on Thursday, July 09, 2009 8:52 AM

Hello nice to meet you..I have a old cuckoo clock from Germany 1969-1970. It was in a closet for years and I have it working but the music wont play the dancers do go around. The only noise from the clock is a ticking nosie from the music box. This clock is my Mothers and a Black Forest, back 30 years ago the clock broke and the repair man took advantage of her. He removed the music box and put in a cheap one. It never played right and did not play the song "Some where my love" Is there a way to fix it without taking it to a repair shop? Seem that it is turning inside just wont play music

Dear Pat,

Thank you for your question. It sounds like you have a great clock. Most likely the release wires to the music box are bent. When the clock finishes cuckooing the music box is then released and the music box turns the dancers in most cases. I'm going to cut and paste below a pre-written answer I keep for just this question. If you are fairly handy and understand how they work you just may get it running. I would definitely try it before I took it in for repair. Just don't bend any of the wires until you understand how the releases function and you should be fine. If after this it doesn't work, you will more than likely need professional help. Best wishes and have a good weekend.


I'm going to try to tell you how the music box works. It may not be exactly what you have, but all are similar and will give your somewhere to start. There should be 2 connections from the movement to the music box. On some movements both wires come from the same spot. On others there is a flat strip of metal coming off the right hand corner of the clock and a straight wire coming off the back center of the clock. The flat strip of metal is hooked to a linkage that pulls a locking pin out of the music box at the top of the hour. The music box tries to play but the fan is immediately stopped by the straight wire coming off the back of the clock. That wire will move back and forth as the clock cuckoos and when it finishes it is supposed to drop away just enough to let the fan rotate freely and the music will play and will lock itself back down. That is how it is supposed to work. Getting it to do that is extremely tricky, but if you are persistent you may well succeed. Last year I had 2 gentlemen and 1 lady succeed in doing just that. There have been at least 75 or more who didn't. Normally I advise people to stay away from that, but some are handier than others. I sometimes spend as much as a whole day on adjusting one music box. Others may take me 10 minutes. There is only one sweet spot where everything will work.

Pat, I hope this helps and at least gives you a good understanding of how it should work. If the fellow who originally worked on it didn't install it properly and the adjustment of the releases aren't the problem then you may need professional help.
Best wishes and have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,

John "Papa" Barnette
Cuckoo Clock Repairs by Mail
www.cuckooclockdoctor.com