Every now and again, a person can feel pretty good about something accomplished. I am feeling pretty good. For the past few years, I have taken up a new hobby of repairing antique clocks. This all came about because (after a stroke), my kids told me that I needed to learn something new...something totally new. Being caught off guard, I spouted off that I was going to learn how to repair clocks since a broken clock was the first thing that caught my attention. Well, they held me to that declaration and here I am. I am still in the learning process but the walls, shelves and tabletops are now filled with antique clocks. Keep in mind here that I did NOT say I was going to collect clocks but, again, here I am. I have more clocks in my living room that most folks own in a lifetime. These are mostly clocks that were deemed as "unrepairable" and practically given away or sold for a song. (If I am going to rip something apart, I sure do not want to sink a lot of money into it first.)
Back about a year ago, I found a gentleman who had a clock for sale really cheap as it was broken. I told Mark that I wanted the clock for an anniversary gift so he drove over to retrieve the clock. Once there, the man showed him another clock that he deemed unrepairable and Mark brought it home, too. I was elated! The first clock was a simple repair and has been ticking along beautifully since but the second one was a puzzle. When fully wound, the hands would whir around the face nonstop and the chimes would continuously ring until the springs gave out. If the door was shut, the clock stopped abruptly. Hmmm...it was interesting, to say the least. This clock sat for an entire year simply because I found it amusing. That clock was possessed!
Finally, I found the courage to tackle said clock. Once I took it fully apart, I found the problem. There is a part called a verge/clutch assembly that keeps the pendulum swinging and keeps the movement in check. Alrighty! Now to fix this thing. Oops...the broken part was not to be found. This clock was made in Germany but was no longer in production. Parts became scarce or simply impossible to find. I searched for a compatible piece and finally found one that was so close that I thought it might work. It did and soon the clock was ticking along nicely. Now to fix those hands. It would have been simple enough to put new hands on the clock but I had noticed that the whole mechanism was in wrong. After mending a bit of the woodwork on the inside of the case, the mechanism was refitted and the hands no long came in contact with the door! Success!
Needless to say, I feel pretty good about having the clock working. Not only does this mean that another beautiful, old clock has been restored but it also means that I am keeping my word! I am learning antique clock repair. While I know that I will never reach "professional" level, at least, I AM learning! Yep, feeling pretty good right about now!
