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Setting up a grandfather clock

So what's all the fuss about?

Well, longcase clock movements are generally robust and should last for generations if serviced every ten years but the wooden cases they occupy don’t always fare so well, especially if they undergo the rigors of transportation or a change in location. Hence, a degree of understanding and skill need to be used when relocating them and refitting movements to the case or you might find they simply won’t run for more than a couple of minutes.

For this reason, where I have serviced the movement I prefer to install them for the owner myself and although there is of course an additional cost element (£35/£40 plus travel), it is modest and really only covers my time and fuel.

Nevertheless, there are times when it’s not practicable for me to be present during installation so these are the points you need to bear in mind if you decide to do it yourself.

What follows is mainly aimed at 8-day movements but much of it applies to 30 hour movements, too. It may not be so relevant to modern 3-train Westminster reproduction clocks though.

Because of their age, longcase clocks have a tendency to lean sideways one way or another and even forwards or backwards.

If yours leans forward or backwards, quite apart from the risks of it toppling over, there is a possibility that the weights will scrape the trunk door as they fall or that the pendulum will touch the backboard, causing it to stop.

If the case leans to the left or right, you might well need to adjust the angle of the crutch that drives the pendulum in order to get it in beat again or the clock will probably stop.

Generally, when it leaves me, the movement is set in beat in relation to the dial, not the movement. I use a spirit level to get the bottom of the dial exactly horizontal and then set the movement in beat.

I do it this way because not all dials sit squarely on the movement that they're attached to, and as it’s the dial not the movement that you’ll be looking at for years to come, I anticipate you will raise one side of the movement or the other until the dial looks right, (that is, the 12 is directly above the 6).

In this respect, the angle of the movement behind it is of no aesthetic importance at all.

Now, when it was built your grandfather clock would have stood on a stone floor and all the joints and panels would have been rigid and straight. After 200 years the joints will have become loose, the timbers will have twisted and warped and part of the plinth at the bottom might even have been sawn off to remove rotten wood caused by daily mopping of the flagstones it stood on for years.

So the clock now needs a little more support.

Even when all the joints are tight, these clocks also have a tendency to sway from side to side slightly (only 1 or 2mm so you probably won’t have noticed it) and that ‘sympathetic vibration’ causes many a clock to stop.

It is especially common around four days after winding. Fitted carpets and modern wood-effect floating floors laid on foam underlay make things even worse so even if you’re confident that your clock is stable, I strongly urge you to anchor it against the wall before you install the movement.

If you're not keen on DIY or don't have the tools, I can do this for £50, but if you're pretty well-equipped and confident, I'll explain how it's done.

To read how to anchor the clock case to the wall, click HERE.

SET UP PROBLEMS

  • A leaning clock can be made to work but it still looks odd.
  • Evidence of a clock that's leaning too far backwards; the friction caused by the pendulum scraping the backboard increases the risk of it stopping.
  • Evidence of a clock that's leaning too far forwards; the weights are scraping the inside of the door.
  • Grandfather clocks were not intended to be placed on fitted carpets and must be anchored to the wall
  • A freestanding clock might look rigid but if it's standing on loose floorboards and not anchored to the wall, it's most likely to stop when the weight/s reach the level of the pendulum bob because of sympathetic vibration.