clock speed adjustment

[Ken Lande]

My mother-in-law has one of these clocks. It is running very fast. The only adjustment I can find is a wheel on the ball assembly. I have tried turning it to lengthen the assembly, but it is still running quite fast (minutes / hour).

How can I slow it down? Which way should I be turnng this wheel, if it is the correct adjustment.

Thanks,
Ken L.

[mpassmore]

The only normal adjustment you can make is the adjuster on the pendulum. To slow it down, you need to adjust the balls to be further out (wider). If it is is gaining very fast, watch the fork at the top of the wire for a few minutes. If the fork is not at the correct height, it can flutter as the balls go past the mid-point. As these clocks only tick 8-12 beats a minute, a rapid flutter very occasionally can account for a huge gain per day. You'll need to watch closely, as they only flutter when you are not looking!! If it is not that, then perhaps the suspension wire is too thick, or worse still, the pendulum is not the original.

If you complete the identification request on the home page, we can probably send you a photo of the pendulum if the clock is a fairly common one.