Clock hammers

[Weekend_Woodworker]

I am again looking to call on the forum's collective wisdom. I recently helped my parents move a grandfather clock as they were having a carpet replaced. The chimes haven't been working recently, but when dismantling it I noticed one of the hammers has come off.


The metal bar / wire has obviously given way some how. It is 1.66mm in diameter.


In the red circle you can see where the hammer was attached. In the blue circle is where a previous repair appears to have been carried out.
The pervious repair appears to have been made with a turned brass cylinder of some sort with the rod possibly soldered in. I don't know where I would get such a bit of brass and I have no experience of soldering other than a few electrical components badly.

The question is how would you go about repairing such a thing? I had looked to see if I could buy some brass tube with an inside diameter on the internet that I could cut a short length off an use some epoxy glue to fix it in place. I would need to cut a slot in the bottom as the bit on the clock looks like a flat plate rather than round wire. However I haven't yet found any suitable tube. Are there better ways of fixing this?

 

[Cabinetman]

Not sure if it would be the right size but in the past I have cannibalised the brass tube with its two screws from an electric connector block or choc block as some call them. Surprisingly strong for their size, and of course they come in different sizes too.
Ian

 

[Weekend_Woodworker]

Not sure if it would be the right size but in the past I have cannibalised the brass tube with its two screws from an electric connector block or choc block as some call them. Surprisingly strong for their size, and of course they come in different sizes too.
Ian

Ian, thanks for that as an idea, I certainly have some choc blocks in the garage. I don’t tend to use them for electrical stuff these days as I have become lazy using the Wago lever connectors. However I might have something of a reasonable size. Might need a bit of adaption for the plate at the bottom.

 

[Eric the Viking]

I think you need to find a good, local clockmaker!

You said that the chimes weren't working. I assume that's 'not at all'. So there were probably two problems, the broken hammer being the second one.

Our own grandfather clock is quite old, and much simpler than a tune-playing mechanism (it simply chimes the hours). It is finicky and difficult to set up properly, and the mech needs regular cleaning (every few years), as we live close to a busy main road and diesel smuts get into the house. I find it difficult to simply move the mechanism around, and keep it safe when it's out of the clock case. I had to move it recently (it's presently still on its back in the lounge!), and was painfully reminded of how awkward it is.

There are all sorts of issues with broken chimes, for example, is that snapped hammer rod hardened or not? It looks like a type of stainless steel, which was probably a bad choice as some grades are prone to work hardening (and another hammer seems to have broken previously, in a similar place). It also looks like the pivot plates (mostly hidden inside the bar into which the hammer rods go) have been created partly by flattening the rods and/or silver soldering the two together - what state are those joints in on the other hammers, and are there fractures there too? The existng repair is neat, but prompts the question as to why it was done in situ as it appears, rather than removing the entire piece and either re-making it or welding/brazing it back together neatly. It looks like access is really awkward.

If you do use anything with clamping screws, unless it's a very snug fit, you risk creating another failure point where the tip of one of the the clamping screws catches the rod. Most likely this will be the one nearer the pivot (which is already a stress point), leaving you with less material for another repair. It looks like the earlier repairer had to modify the sleeve considerably to get it to fit (cutting a slot at the bottom), and I'm amazed the repair worked. I don't think the clamp in a chocolate-block connector will work without a lot of similar adaptation--they're almost always plated brass, so are structurally weak. The right thing to do is dismantle that entire pivot bar carefully, check and remake/replace any hammer rods that are showing signs of similar stress (there will probably be others). Those hammers look quite heavy given the length and thickness of the rods, and that won't help the forces near the pivot. I'll look, but I'm pretty certain that the single hammer of ours (striking a bell) isn't anything like as heavy - of course it may be necessary in the case of your clock.

I've concluded, painfully and reluctantly, that my own enthusiasm for mechanical clocks doesn't replace the skill, training and experience needed to keep them running well. I found a good clockmaker and have stuck with him down the years, even though he recently moved to be a 6-hour round trip (and three counties) away. I am, reluctantly, looking for someone closer now, because of the practicalties.

Whatever you do, I really hope it succeeds, as to me there are few things as comforting as the chime of a clock in the quiet of the early hours.

Best regards, E.

 

[Weekend_Woodworker]

Eric, thank you for the thoughtful reply. I agree the simplest solution would be to take it to a clock repairer who knows what they are doing. My father was going to talk it the local one he has used in his village, but it is closed indefinitely following the owner being injured.

I was concerned that trying to make a completely new hammer rods would be disproportionately expensive as I am not sure the clock is worth a lot.

Perhaps I need to see if I can help my father find a different clock repairer and find out how much it would be.

Thanks,

Mark