Help needed

Hi,

I am new to this site and so far, I have had some lovely responses from members, thank you.

My father was a model engineer but is no longer with us unfortunately.

One of his last projects was a lantern clock, which is just about finished but it does not run for long.

My mum would love to get it going and I wondered if there was anyone on this site who might love to have a play with finishing it off? We'd be happy to pay a reasonable price to see it working.

There is also a grandfather clock that he made years ago, which I have managed to just about get going but then that stops after a few days. If there is anyone who could help with that too, we would be grateful.

Mum is based near Gloucester.

Thanks in advance,

Andy

Sorry for your loss, not easy to deal with.

Have you thought about contacting the 'Repair shop' on the telly - just the sort of thing they love featuring. Just an idea if you can't find anyone willing to take it on here - mind you there a lot of clock people on the forum so will be suprprised if you don't get any offers of assistance.

All the best. Mike

Steve Fletcher of The Repair Shop has premises in Witney, within reach of Gloucester.

http://www.clockworkshop.co.uk/

+1 for Steve Fletcher

He repaired/restored my Great Grandfathers Waltham Railwaymans watch (1880's) to an impeccable standard in 2018, he is immensely knowledgeable and has spares for just about every watch there is, and if not he'll make bespoke parts.

Couldn't recommended more highly.

Re: Steve Fletcher...(quote from website) "Please be advised that due to our current workload it may be sometime before we can start repairs. We currently have around a 9 month waiting list. "

If you consult The British Horological Institute's website, you can input your location details and find one of their nearby accredited repairers.

**LINK**

Re the grandfather clock, you say it runs for a few days and then stops? During my travels when working in peoples houses ( not as a clock repairer) I often came across clocks that the owner said would not run for long. In many cases I spotted why it would not run properly and it was nearly always because it was out of level.

If it's a pendulum clock then you have to be certain it's absolutely level and listen to the ticking and put packing under the clock to get it level, It's hard to describe what I mean without sounding comical but you should get an nice even tick tock sound and if it's only slightly out of level you can get a tick ta tick sound which will lead to the clock stopping.

I remember one lady had a nice Grandfather clock with a painted face and moon phases etc. It ran for years but stopped when my husband died she said. I'll have a look when I've finished my work I said and she was thrilled.

As soon as she had gone out I ran to have a look and when I opened the case I saw there was no mechanism! nothing other than the dial and a couple of cogs holding the hands. The pendulum and weighs were fixed to a piece of wood so they hung in the right place and were visible when you opened the door.