Anybody know anything about grandfather clock movements?

[Salty]

My dad gave me a beautiful clock made in Germany in the 70's. It still runs well, but I don't know what all the levers and knobs do. He said you can change the chimes, but he has no idea how.

It's a URGOS UW 3/11A movement, but I can't find any information about it online.

Anybody have a clue? I'm reluctant to start pushing and pulling things without knowing what I'm doing.

 

[JOhnH]

All I know about grandfather's movements is that they often came at inopportune times.

 

[flyingron]

Two of them control the chiming. One is for disabling it at night the other turns on and off the Westimster Chime but leaves the hour gong.

Try asking the question here: https://mb.nawcc.org/

 

[Matthew]

Two of them control the chiming. One is for disabling it at night the other turns on and off the Westimster Chime but leaves the hour gong.

Yeah, consider one or both inhibit levers as “night mode”. Sometimes you can just not reset the weight(s) that drives the chimes.

There’s probably some sort of advance/retard adjustment if it’s running slow or fast. If you can’t find it, then there’s probably going to be an adjustment at the bottom of the pendulum. Unscrew it to lengthen the pendulum so it takes longer on each swing, screw it in to shorten the stroke and make it run faster.

 

[Lindberg]

And if it hasn't been serviced since the 70s, you may want to have a clockmaker come take a look and clean/lube it, so it will still be running great when you give it to your kid.

 

[steingar]

Go to your nearest antique store or antique mall and start asking around. Someone will know a clockmaker, I bet there are a lot in Florida.

 

[GaryM]

Go to your nearest antique store or antique mall and start asking around. Someone will know a clockmaker, I bet there are a lot in Florida.

We found one with an internet search. In central NJ, The Clock Doctor was the guy. He charges like he'd actually gone to medical school, but when a moving company somehow lost the pendulum to a grandfather clock my father had built from a kit, we needed to have a new one made (the original part was no longer available). Soon after, the movement failed (brass gears don't last forever), but he was able to replace that as well.