If on the other if hand the bill would be over what the clock is worth would you recommend soaking the whole mechinism in this special oil before attempting to wind it?
Dean, soaking the whole mechanism in oil
won’t work.
But anyway, the 1st thing is to find a key that will fit it. Then see if you can “wind it” but DON’T FORCE IT. You have to use some pressure but not a whole bunch. And BE CAREFUL, some clocks “wind up” counterclockwise, and that wasn’t an oxymoron. Clockwise/counterclockwise refers to the directions the “hands” of the clock turns. There might even be an arrow on the back to show “winding” direction.
Anyway, it might not be “ticking” for two reasons:
1) it just needs winding up or
2) it had quit “ticking” and someone wound it up tight, which is indication that it is dirty or broken. When a clock don’t work the 1st thing every “fixer-upper” does is ….. wind it some more.
Anyway, if it just needs winding up then there is a good chance it will run OK. You just might have to “jiggle” it a few times for the first few hours of run time.
Dean, now for the tricky part if it doesn’t run or you just want to clean and/or oil the mechanism.
I can’t tell if the clock has a glass face on it or not. If not, you might have to remove the hands to remove the mechanism from the case by unscrewing that “cap bolt”. The minute hand will have a “square” hole in it to fit the square ended center shaft. The hour hand is just a “compression” fit on the hollow outer shaft and can be pulled off with a twisting action. The hour hand is always “set” to the minute hand, not vice versa. Very important to remember if your clock “chimes” the hour.
If it has a glass face that won’t open, then it also uses a “key” to set the time, ….. and the hands, the face and the mechanism all comes out of the case as one unit.
So, to remove the mechanism, lay it face down on a towel, open the back and there should be 4 screws holding the mechanism in place. Remove them and the mechanism should lift right up outta there.
But now to really clean n’ oil it you need to take the hands and face of it for 2 reasons. You don’t want to get oil, cleaning fluid or a dirty fingerprint on the face. And secondly, the minute hand shaft is a likely culprit for being in need of oil and/or getting “gummed up” and in need of cleaning.
Now, …… the way I cleaned a mechanism …… was to liberally squirt lighter fluid on any shaft, shaft bearing or any two cogs that mesh together …. and especially down the shaft of the “minute” hand and/or the center of the “hour” hand shaft. (do said over a cloth to catch the drippies) Then shake the mechanism back n’ forth a couple time to get the “escapement” wheel rotating back n’ forth. (And if it don’t rotate you probably got a broken hairspring) Then let is set IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION for an hour a “ticking” hopefully. Then repeat a couple times to get all the crud flushed away.
Then put the oil to it, on any shaft, shaft bearing, etc., etc. as stated before, …… right out of the can or with a Q-tip for places you can’t “drip” the oil on … and repeat the “shaking n’ ticking” procedure.
You should make sure it will “keep ticking” on it own for 8 to 24+ hours before you put it back in the case. And before you put it back in the case wipe any excess oil off of it.
It is really not that complicated to do, cheers
