06/11/2025
Awesome Tips on Clock Maintenance by the Clockman, Mason Banks:
Your clock is a precisely designed and constructed mechanism. Please treat it as such. Wind it until the key or chain stops, but do not force it after that. YOU WILL NOT DAMAGE THE CLOCK BY WINDING IT ALL THE WAY. With some clocks, the key holes turn the same direction whereas others they turn opposite each other. Usually toward the center of the clock-one clockwise, the other counterclockwise. If you do not wind your clock completely, it will not run as long as it is intended to and/or keep good time. If you have a clock with springs, it may make some strange noises. This is normal. The springs sometimes rub against themselves.
With a pendulum clock, the tick-tock should sound very even like a metronome. If you have a wall clock, it has been set so the clock hangs level. After you hang the clock, pull the pendulum all the way over to the side and let it go. DO NOT attempt to make any adjustments to the clock if you cannot get it working when you bring it home after I repaired it without contacting me first.
If you have a floor, shelf, or mantel clock, it has been tested on a level surface. Make sure the surface it normally sits on is level as well. Again, if you have any problems let me know.
Timing a clock is a very meticulous process. You should only make one adjustment every 24 hours. One complete turn of the k**b or nut at the bottom of the pendulum changes the timing about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes per day. As you look at the k**b or nut from edge on, Turn it to the right to speed it up and to the left to slow it down. If it’s a cuckoo clock, just move the pendulum up or down by hand. Some other clocks are adjusted differently. You may have to make adjustments to the timing of your clock when you bring it home. Temperature and humidity changes can greatly affect a clock’s timing. If you have a clock without a pendulum or if you have an anniversary clock with a glass dome over it, contact me if it fails to keep correct time.
Periodic oiling of your clock is NOT recommended. Adding oil to oil already in the clock can actually draw out all the oil and/or invite dust that can mix with the oil and become abrasive to the parts. NEVER use WD-40 on a clock. It can dissolve the brass parts.
ONLY MOVE THE MINUTE HAND (THE LONG HAND) TO SET YOUR CLOCK. DO NOT MOVE THE HOUR HAND (SHORT HAND). With 98% of clocks, it is perfectly safe to turn the minute hand backwards to set the clock, like for daylight savings time. It may affect the chiming for an hour or so, but the clock will re synch itself. If it’s an older clock and the chimes are out of synch with the hands, after it chimes move the minute hand backwards to somewhere near the 7 or 8. You should hear or feel a slight click. Then move it back up to the 12 and count how many times it chimes. It should be 1 more than it chimed previously. Just keep doing that until it matches what the hands say. If you have any doubts about it though, contact me.
Your clock has been tested for at least 7 days before you were contacted. —Mason Banks
