Back From the "Dead"?

   My interest in repairing antique clocks has taken on a new twist.  When I started as a sort of mental therapy to keep the brain "young", I chose key-wind clocks simply because of several inoperable old clocks that I loved due to family ties.  My kids prodded me to always learn so clocks were the "always learning tools".  The new twist came when Mark bought several broken cuckoo clocks.  Each of these were sold as "for parts only" or "nonrepairable".  I had no idea about the inner workings of a chain-driven clock so this was foreign territory but I was excited to give it a go.

  One of the clocks was in quite a state of disrepair.  The poor thing was missing parts of the facade, had no hands, the cuckoo (bird) was permanently stuck in the "in" position with the doors stuck closed, the bellows were torn and the chains were frozen to the point of absolutely no movement.  The entire housing was in need of refurbishing.  In short, the clock was in shambles and did, indeed, appear to be unrepairable. I was determined...and "keep learning something new" was rambling in the head.

 

  After weeks of tinkering with the mechanism, it was finally returned to working order!  The chains were actually installed backwards and were also off track.  Once those were set straight, the bellows were repaired which was a daunting task.  My fear was that I would glue the things together so they would never open!  New hands were installed and the whole wooden part of the clock received an overhaul.  Once a new header was purchased, the finish on the clock was done to match the new piece and the clock was complete!  My learning experience turned out a thing of beauty!  Since then, the other cuckoo clock has been repaired and the two birds chirp happily at their appointed times.  While the ticking, chiming and chirping of twenty-plus clocks in the living room would drive most folks mad, to me, it is euphonious.  Each tick is a reminder of a job well done and a symbol of the will to learn.