Antique and Vintage Clocks

In a previous article I described some of the challenges I had with this E.N. Welch clock movement.

The clock ran for about 48 hours and suddenly stopped. It seems that every time I think everything is going well, something else crops up.  I dis-assembled the movement (again) and installed three more bushings, one of which is on the escape wheel bridge which I noticed had a fair amount of play. Perhaps the vertical motion of the EW was causing the clock to stop. The other two bushings were installed on the third wheel, back and front. I have decided to hold off addressing the EW teeth if the bushing work I have done has solved the stoppage issue.

I was hoping to wrap the servicing up fairly quickly but unanticipated problems continued to crop up. Having completed the work mentioned above I could see that things were beginning to change for the better.

The time side ran strongly for eight days after which I reinstalled the strike train. Here is the movement running on a test stand.

Setting up the strike side required manipulating some of the lever wires which were moved out of position by the previous owner, for whatever reason. A previous repair/adjustment resulted in the lifting levers bent back into the case and the count lever pushed in an upwards orientation. As a result I had to bend the levers back into their original positions.

Here is the movement installed back into its case.

It should now run reliably for years to come. A frustrating project with a satisfying ending.