Adjusting the snail on my first-ever clock repair
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- Опубликовано: 8 янв 2019
- This video shows me setting the correct position of the Snail on my Korean, Montgomery Ward, 30-day, Schoolhouse clock.
Mechanical clocks have two common types of striking mechanism: Rack and Snail, and Count Wheel. With a Rack and Snail design, it's important when reassembling the clock to position the Snail correctly. If the Snail is off by as little as one gear tooth, the clock may strike the wrong number of hours, or may even jam and stop running.
The process is simple: 1) point the minute hand to 12 o'clock (the top of the hour), 2) position the Snail so the hour hand points directly at 12 o'clock, 3) clip the Snail into position, being careful not to let the Snail slip before you've secured it. Though it sounds easy, you can see from this video that there is "many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip".
For a detailed look at how a Rack and Snail striking mechanism works, see ticktocktony.com/Clock-Repair...
To see this clock's Rack and Snail in operation, see • Testing the striking g... 
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Since getting this clock running, I've learned that you can adjust the snail (and hour hand) position without disassembling the clock. There is an hour hand clutch, which enables you to push the hour hand around the face, moving the snail as well.
So if your Montgomery Ward clock isn't striking the right number of hours sometimes, and the hour hand doesn't point straight at the hour when the minute hand points to 12 o'clock, you should be able to fix the problem by pushing the hour hand to the correct position. NOTE: don't move the hour hand until the clock has struck the hour; pushing the hour hand forward when the clock has gone into 'warning' (primed for striking) can damage the clock.
Hands down the best explanation on YT. thanks
Thank your for a very helpful video. I hope to find mire of your videos. Thanks for explaining and being persistent and patient
Nicely done sir.
The more detail-oriented viewers probably noticed that I put the minute hand tension washer on incorrectly. The (incorrect) order of hand parts in the video is: hour hand, hour hand nut, minute hand tension washer, minute hand, minute hand nut. Before I learned this was the incorrect order, I was wondering why the clock kept stopping. The problem was that the minute hand was pressing down onto the hour hand, causing more friction than the mainspring could overcome. That's a simple, silly way a clock can stop after running a few minutes.
The correct order of hand parts is: hour hand, hour hand nut, minute hand, minute hand tension washer (with the domed part face-up), minute hand nut. I assume the minute hand tension washer is there to press evenly down on the minute hand, so that hand doesn't tilt.
Great video thx.. I ve a 31day clock with a snail n strike problem.. Manually turning the minute hand the strike is working correct.. When the clock is ticking away on the hour the strikes are random..
Tommy Howard I have a Korea Clock I m having trouble getting to get proper time with hour hand I think the S shape on the Hour hand rod needs adjusted if you can tell me how to adjust it Thanks
I don't know about that particular problem, but take a look at my comment below that starts "Since getting this clock running". That comment tells how to adjust the position of the hour hand.
Hi. Great video. I have a question: why do you set up the snail for 12 o clock? Isn't the important issue to make sure that the rack pin falls in the beginning of each snail step? Or you do it just because it's easier, without the dial, to set the hour hand to a vertical position? Thank you for your reply. jp
There is no need to open clock if it is striking wrong. Just listen the next hour, count strikes, stop clock and set needles to the counted hour. Now set current time. That's it. No need for this cumbersome process which has made simple thing tedious.
the clip that you put in is supposed to have a washer underneath it to keep the snail in place. It isnt the clip that holds it in place it is a washer that holds it in place and the clip holds the washer in place.
I'm at a loss understanding how putting the e clip on the small gear below the snail can possibly retain the snail and tube.
Good question. Take a close look at the snail, which is visible in the upper-right of the picture about 2:30. You can see that the snail is permanently fastened to the tube and the motion-works gear at the bottom (back) of the tube. The e-clip keeps the motion works gears (a small gear plus the snail's gear) in place, and because the central motion works gear is permanently fastened to the snail, the motion works gear keeps the snail and tube from coming off.
Repairing the identical clock. Problem, clock occasionally strikes twice on the half hour at no specific time. Not sure why. ALSO, nut holding hour hand is stripped. Cannot find a duplicate anywhere. Not sure if metric. Currently being held on with e-clip made from a washer. Any ideas where I might get an appropriate washer?
I generally buy clock parts from timesavers.com, but you can search Clock Parts on Google to find a parts supplier near you. Good luck.
i have an issue,,my junghans clcck strikes 3 times at 2 and 3 times at 230,,and then the 3 oclock hour becomes 4 strikes and so on,12 becomes 1 oclock,,,,,will this fix my problem??
I'm sorry I have no experience with Junghans clocks. The general principle of a rack and snail is the same, but the details are probably very different.
@@BradfordNeedham turned out to be a gummed up snail,,was moving too slow and passing the 2oclock stop i remedied the problem
Did you fix the problem? This I common for ships clocks to stripe once at 12:30, twice at 1:00, 3 times at 1:30, all the way through to 8 times at 4:00, and then it resets to once at 4:30, twice at 5:00, and so on.
Do you adjust to the twelve o clock position?
I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but I'll make a guess: "do you adjust the position of the minute hand so the clock strikes when the minute hand points exactly to 12 o'clock? I didn't make that adjustment on this clock. I remember reading that in most cases it's better to adjust another lever rather than bending the minute hand. See Steven Conover's book "Clock Repair Basics" (timesavers.com/i-8944876-clock-repair-basics-by-steven-conover.html).
@@BradfordNeedham that makes sense about the minute hand