Thanks to your inspiration, I was able to completely disassemble my nice ST89L, swap the short hand spindle for a long spindle from the old mechanism I needed for my cymbal clock, reassemble and correct a constant running chime side after assembly. The clock is running great now and chiming nicely. I'm going to install the short spindle in the old worn mechanism after I install all the new bushings needed. Thanks once again for your great video work-TM
A mainspring cannot be patched. It is evenly tempered throughout its length and any repair in the middle will not last and is very dangerous. On either end, the spring is softened to allow it to conform to the extreme shapes and holes needed for attachment points. If the outside end, hole or loop is broken, the spring can be shortened a couple of inches. 4 to 5 inches Softened with a torch, then the end is formed into a loop and riveted or a hole is cut and filed to remove sharp edges.
The Spring for the gong(lack of a better term) broke and made a hell of a noise..still in the clock frame up against the clock housing.It looks like just like the main spring . The clock still runs but no gongen. do you have to unwind and wind the springs?
Al, I very much appreciate your videos: helpful, understanding, practical and confidence building. I noticed in your procedure from going from a factory issued mainspring to installation that you began with a clamped mainspring. My replacement mainsprings come captured by a twisted wire. How did you get from a spring captured in wire to one in a clamp?
+Richard Leland factory springs come captured with a wire or throw away clamp. Remove it and clean the spring to remove rust preventor. Wind it up in Winder and clamp it with a flat clamp as shown..
I use Light or Medium Keystone mainspring oil for mainsprings and Great Wheel pivots, I use Nye Clock Oil for pivots, or Synthetic 5 weight. I've also tried mobile one 5 weight with good success Al
Hello, I fond this very helpful. I have been in clock repair for over 20 yrs and this is a very insightful video. Thank you so Much! Let me ask you, do you find it best to use Standard marinating oil or could I possibly sub it with Gun oil? I have done that twice so far with great success.
+Chris Julianus Hello Chris, I do so many clocks that I can't afford to have them come back or a repeat service call because I was trying out a different oil. To me it is far more reliable to use the many clock oils which have a proven track record. I get great results with Nye oils.
Thank you Mr. Takatsch, I lucked into the guts (only) of a WmL Gilbert mantle clock and I'm going to replace a mainspring that has been wound way too tightly (it appears to me.) Is the let down tool just essentially a nut driver or does it ratchet? Would it behoove me to buy a let down tool and the spring clamp and just give it good cleaning? Thanks in advance for any help.
Thomas, Welcome to Clock Repair. The Let Down Tool is purchased with many sizes of adapters that fit most all sizes of square winding arbors. They have a Square Hole to safely hold the Winding Arbor. The handle is smooth plastic so you can throttle the grip as it turns slowly in your hand once you disengage the Click. Its only a let down tool, not a winding tool. The saying wound too tight generally applies to people, not clocks. A movement that has stopped can no longer unwind its own springs. The problem lies in the movement, when new the largest wheels turn with slight finger pressure when the spring is unwound. Actually that is the test if you did a correct overhaul. Even a half of a turn on the mainspring should make it work. If the springs are not rippled, set or cracked they should last another lifetime. I mentioned Overhaul not repair above, a movement has so many moving parts that all wear, get dirty at the same time. I find it far less time consuming to take apart a movement, clean and polish rubbing parts, replace worn bushings, assemble, time the striking train and run it on the test stand for a week. Takes me about 3 hours, this is after doing 500 American Clocks through the years. Your first few clocks will take longer. I sell a Gilbert Repair Video which puts you in the seat next to me as I Overhaul a Gilbert Time and Strike clock and Yak my head off answering all the questions I can think of. www.ebay.com/itm/131253120977?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 Thanks for Asking, Welcome to Clock Repair Al Takatsch Jefferson ClockWorks
Where do I find click spring the small brass spring..I looks like my main spring are ok but the small brass spring is broken. any suggestions? looks like the wire was attached to the clicker
+Lyle Hofstedt www.merritts.com/clock_parts/public/productlist.aspx?SearchText=spring+wire&x=32&y=14 The clicks with wires are fragile, the wire is staked to the click
Your Welcome, If you want to test if a movement will run at the end of the mainspring wind, only wind it 1/2 to 1 full wind. A clean, bushed and polished pivot clock should easily run on that amount of power. Al
I disassembled the mainspring of a cheap pocketwatch once, and its mainspring started winding one way but finished with a few turns in the opposite way (I think it's called a reverse or semi-reverse mainspring). I couldn't figure out how to put it back in the barrel and eventually the plastic barrel gear broke when I kept trying (it had a plastic geartrain!). Any idea how to wind a reverse mainspring?
can you patch main springs? i have a clock that i purchased at a garage sale and when i got it home i wound it up and oiled it up and it ran, but the chiming spring was broken. will i have to replace it or can i patch it?
Is that a lathe that you are using? Also the tool you are using to release the spring what in it called . Finally what are you using to wind the spring I am very interested. Thanking you in advance.
+Adorn Custom Upholstery It is an Olie Type Mainspring Winder, not a lathe. To release the spring, I use a spring winder tool and a screwdriver to release the MS click. The Olie Type MS winder is used for Open and Barreled Springs, very safe to use.
OldTimerGuy58 I don't think a hydraulic lock is an issue because the problem would get worse as time goes on. A possibility could be that the pivots and/or pivot holes were not completely cleaned and polished. The new oil slowly melts the old oil and things start to run free er.
Hello Lyle, I overhaul clocks for customers to keep my quality of service high. What happened to your clock to need a mainspring? I find its a worn or dirty movement that stops a clock, rarely old mainsprings. If at all possible I keep the old MS because they have a flater power curve than new MS. A movement that is clean and repaired needs very little power to work. On the average I replace 1 MS out of every 30 if it has cracked or become bumpy and wavy.
+Al Takatsch How would I recoil a open spring like this if I do not have one of those spring winding things like you do? I had a clock stop working and the second I opened it to take a look the spring shot out and rolled across the desk. It had obviously popped off the post inside the clock because a small end cap on the post unscrewed. I don't know too much about clocks, but I have figured out how all the other parts are placed. Can you rewind a spring using just a clip before you put it in? I could easily cut a piece of PVC pipe to the right size to use as a clip if that's the case. Otherwise I might have to take it to someplace that fixes clocks. It's a smaller spring on a alarm clock.
Al Takatsch Thanks for the answer. I thought that is what you'd say. A couple other clocks I have need the springs put back in as well, as I'd replaced gears on or removed rust from them. They were quite old and not the best condition at first. I did properly and safely remove the springs on those, I just can't put them back in with what I have right now. Found a very simple mainspring winder and clips of the right size on Ebay for $20. I do have a few clocks I would like to fix, and one for them does need a new spring. I'l have to think if I will get that and fix it myself or have someone else do it. I wouldn't mind learning more about and restoring more clocks. I understand how the parts of a clock go together and what the parts do, just not exactly how it works as a whole. Thanks for the info.
If you ever need help, I sell clock repair video's on ebay that put you in the repair seat www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313.TR4.TRC2.A0.H0.Xal+takatsch.TRS0&_nkw=al+takatsch&_sacat=0 Al Takatsch Jefferson ClockWorks
The wikipedia article has a picture of a reverse mainspring if my description is unclear. It winds two ways when it's unwound. In my case I pulled the two barrel halves apart and the spring flew out before I could see how it was originally wound.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks to your inspiration, I was able to completely disassemble my nice ST89L, swap the short hand spindle for a long spindle from the old mechanism I needed for my cymbal clock, reassemble and correct a constant running chime side after assembly. The clock is running great now and chiming nicely. I'm going to install the short spindle in the old worn mechanism after I install all the new bushings needed. Thanks once again for your great video work-TM
This video helped me out greatly! Thank you for teaching me to do mainsprings.
+Dakotadarkwolf Your Welcome
A mainspring cannot be patched. It is evenly tempered throughout its length and any repair in the middle will not last and is very dangerous. On either end, the spring is softened to allow it to conform to the extreme shapes and holes needed for attachment points.
If the outside end, hole or loop is broken, the spring can be shortened a couple of inches. 4 to 5 inches Softened with a torch, then the end is formed into a loop and riveted or a hole is cut and filed to remove sharp edges.
thanks to your vid, I released my first mainspring today, thanks
The Spring for the gong(lack of a better term) broke and made a hell of a noise..still in the clock frame up against the clock housing.It looks like just like the main spring . The clock still runs but no gongen. do you have to unwind and wind the springs?
Al, I very much appreciate your videos: helpful, understanding, practical and confidence building. I noticed in your procedure from going from a factory issued mainspring to installation that you began with a clamped mainspring. My replacement mainsprings come captured by a twisted wire. How did you get from a spring captured in wire to one in a clamp?
+Richard Leland factory springs come captured with a wire or throw away clamp. Remove it and clean the spring to remove rust preventor. Wind it up in Winder and clamp it with a flat clamp as shown..
I use Light or Medium Keystone mainspring oil for mainsprings and Great Wheel pivots,
I use Nye Clock Oil for pivots, or Synthetic 5 weight. I've also tried mobile one 5 weight with good success
Al
Sounds very wise! thank you very much!
Hello! I LOVED this video and I'm REALLY in to clockwork but I don't know where to get a let-down tool. Where do you find one?
Merritts.com has them
Hello, I fond this very helpful. I have been in clock repair for over 20 yrs and this is a very insightful video. Thank you so Much! Let me ask you, do you find it best to use Standard marinating oil or could I possibly sub it with Gun oil? I have done that twice so far with great success.
+Chris Julianus
Hello Chris, I do so many clocks that I can't afford to have them come back or a repeat service call because I was trying out a different oil. To me it is far more reliable to use the many clock oils which have a proven track record. I get great results with Nye oils.
do you replace springs for customers?
Thank you Mr. Takatsch, I lucked into the guts (only) of a WmL Gilbert mantle clock and I'm going to replace a mainspring that has been wound way too tightly (it appears to me.) Is the let down tool just essentially a nut driver or does it ratchet? Would it behoove me to buy a let down tool and the spring clamp and just give it good cleaning? Thanks in advance for any help.
Thomas,
Welcome to Clock Repair. The Let Down Tool is purchased with many sizes of adapters that fit most all sizes of square winding arbors. They have a Square Hole to safely hold the Winding Arbor. The handle is smooth plastic so you can throttle the grip as it turns slowly in your hand once you disengage the Click. Its only a let down tool, not a winding tool.
The saying wound too tight generally applies to people, not clocks. A movement that has stopped can no longer unwind its own springs. The problem lies in the movement, when new the largest wheels turn with slight finger pressure when the spring is unwound. Actually that is the test if you did a correct overhaul. Even a half of a turn on the mainspring should make it work. If the springs are not rippled, set or cracked they should last another lifetime.
I mentioned Overhaul not repair above, a movement has so many moving parts that all wear, get dirty at the same time. I find it far less time consuming to take apart a movement, clean and polish rubbing parts, replace worn bushings, assemble, time the striking train and run it on the test stand for a week. Takes me about 3 hours, this is after doing 500 American Clocks through the years. Your first few clocks will take longer.
I sell a Gilbert Repair Video which puts you in the seat next to me as I Overhaul a Gilbert Time and Strike clock and Yak my head off answering all the questions I can think of.
www.ebay.com/itm/131253120977?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Thanks for Asking,
Welcome to Clock Repair
Al Takatsch
Jefferson ClockWorks
Where do I find click spring the small brass spring..I looks like my main spring are ok but the small brass spring is broken.
any suggestions? looks like the wire was attached to the clicker
+Lyle Hofstedt
www.merritts.com/clock_parts/public/productlist.aspx?SearchText=spring+wire&x=32&y=14
The clicks with wires are fragile, the wire is staked to the click
Your Welcome,
If you want to test if a movement will run at the end of the mainspring wind, only wind it 1/2 to 1 full wind. A clean, bushed and polished pivot clock should easily run on that amount of power.
Al
I disassembled the mainspring of a cheap pocketwatch once, and its mainspring started winding one way but finished with a few turns in the opposite way (I think it's called a reverse or semi-reverse mainspring). I couldn't figure out how to put it back in the barrel and eventually the plastic barrel gear broke when I kept trying (it had a plastic geartrain!). Any idea how to wind a reverse mainspring?
Usefull, helpfull many thanks.
can you patch main springs? i have a clock that i purchased at a garage sale and when i got it home i wound it up and oiled it up and it ran, but the chiming spring was broken. will i have to replace it or can i patch it?
Is that a lathe that you are using? Also the tool you are using to release the spring what in it called . Finally what are you using to wind the spring I am very interested. Thanking you in advance.
+Adorn Custom Upholstery It is an Olie Type Mainspring Winder, not a lathe.
To release the spring, I use a spring winder tool and a screwdriver to release the MS click.
The Olie Type MS winder is used for Open and Barreled Springs, very safe to use.
OldTimerGuy58
I don't think a hydraulic lock is an issue because the problem would get worse as time goes on.
A possibility could be that the pivots and/or pivot holes were not completely cleaned and polished. The new oil slowly melts the old oil and things start to run free er.
Very interesting informative video, thank you.
Where do you get the springs and how muchdo they cost
+CSA toolbox
merritts.com or timesavers.com
cost varies on maker and quantity
Hello Lyle, I overhaul clocks for customers to keep my quality of service high. What happened to your clock to need a mainspring?
I find its a worn or dirty movement that stops a clock, rarely old mainsprings. If at all possible I keep the old MS because they have a flater power curve than new MS. A movement that is clean and repaired needs very little power to work. On the average I replace 1 MS out of every 30 if it has cracked or become bumpy and wavy.
+Al Takatsch
How would I recoil a open spring like this if I do not have one of those spring winding things like you do? I had a clock stop working and the second I opened it to take a look the spring shot out and rolled across the desk. It had obviously popped off the post inside the clock because a small end cap on the post unscrewed. I don't know too much about clocks, but I have figured out how all the other parts are placed. Can you rewind a spring using just a clip before you put it in? I could easily cut a piece of PVC pipe to the right size to use as a clip if that's the case. Otherwise I might have to take it to someplace that fixes clocks. It's a smaller spring on a alarm clock.
I use a mainspring winder to do mainsprings. Its a safety device and tool which I depend on to do the job correctly. I value my fingers and time.
Al Takatsch
Thanks for the answer. I thought that is what you'd say.
A couple other clocks I have need the springs put back in as well, as I'd replaced gears on or removed rust from them. They were quite old and not the best condition at first. I did properly and safely remove the springs on those, I just can't put them back in with what I have right now.
Found a very simple mainspring winder and clips of the right size on Ebay for $20. I do have a few clocks I would like to fix, and one for them does need a new spring.
I'l have to think if I will get that and fix it myself or have someone else do it. I wouldn't mind learning more about and restoring more clocks. I understand how the parts of a clock go together and what the parts do, just not exactly how it works as a whole. Thanks for the info.
If you ever need help, I sell clock repair video's on ebay that put you in the repair seat
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313.TR4.TRC2.A0.H0.Xal+takatsch.TRS0&_nkw=al+takatsch&_sacat=0
Al Takatsch
Jefferson ClockWorks
Al Takatsch
I'l keep that in mind! Thanks.
The wikipedia article has a picture of a reverse mainspring if my description is unclear. It winds two ways when it's unwound. In my case I pulled the two barrel halves apart and the spring flew out before I could see how it was originally wound.
Your Welcome, thanks for watching!!
Al
Very informative. Thanks for the help. :))
I'm strickly Clock Repair, check out nawcc.org message board for watch repair help