Going Cuckoo
For my entire life I had wanted a cuckoo clock. My Mother did buy me one when I was in my early teens as a reward for getting a good school report but it was always a disappointment. It wasn’t what I’d call a ‘proper’ cuckoo-clock having only one chain and giving a single cuckoo every quarter hour. Besides that it’s time-keeping was all over the place; my Dad said it must go on ginger-bread works. In fact it’s the type of thing that even the makers write-off as “Novelty Clocks” or “Souvenir Clocks.”
It certainly didn’t get better with age and eventually wouldn’t go at all. By that time I’d got some sort of ability at fixing clocks but could never work out how to get it to bits as the pipes stopped the movement from coming out and they were glued in place.
For my entire life I had wanted a cuckoo clock. My Mother did buy me one when I was in my early teens as a reward for getting a good school report but it was always a disappointment. It wasn’t what I’d call a ‘proper’ cuckoo-clock having only one chain and giving a single cuckoo every quarter hour. Besides that it’s time-keeping was all over the place; my Dad said it must go on ginger-bread works. In fact it’s the type of thing that even the makers write-off as “Novelty Clocks” or “Souvenir Clocks.”
It certainly didn’t get better with age and eventually wouldn’t go at all. By that time I’d got some sort of ability at fixing clocks but could never work out how to get it to bits as the pipes stopped the movement from coming out and they were glued in place.
In the early-2000s I was given a very nice one that’s a proper antique. I don’t know how old it is but it’s certainly pre-war; I wouldn’t like to say which war though. This had certainly had a hard life: one chain was shorter than the other and the ends were lash-ups, several of the numbers were missing and a couple had been crudely painted on and the pendulum was obviously not original. Besides that it was utterly filthy.
I managed to get it going but it would only go for a few minutes. This was pretty obviously down to both pivot holes for the second wheel been badly worn. I set it aside in the hope that One Day I’d either have the skill and equipment to fix it or find somebody who could.
I managed to get it going but it would only go for a few minutes. This was pretty obviously down to both pivot holes for the second wheel been badly worn. I set it aside in the hope that One Day I’d either have the skill and equipment to fix it or find somebody who could.
A few years later I got a much bigger one from an auction. This probably dates from the 1950s and didn’t take much to get going. All was well for a while until the ratchet spring for the calling chain snapped.
When I looked at that it had obviously been worked on before. It also isn’t actually a ratchet but a helical spring with one end fixed to the sprocket wheel. When you pull on the chain to wind it this spring relaxes allowing the wheel to run free but when you let go and the weight starts to pull the other end it grips the arbour tightly. I replaced it with one out of an old lamp holder.
A few weeks later it started stopping and I thought sod it as the Fates had obviously decreed that I wasn’t meant to have a cuckoo clock and that went into storage as well.
Obviously I could have had either of these looked at professionally but that would cost a fortune, more than a new cuckoo clock would cost. The trouble is that the old ‘back street’ clock repairers who’d go an OK job for a reasonable price are all long gone and all that are left are high class ones who’ll do a brilliant job and charge the earth. Besides that they won’t all stoop to working on cuckoo clocks.
The other option was to fit new movements. These aren’t exactly cheap but still less than half what I’d expect to pay to have one repaired. I wouldn’t have minded doing that with the 1950s one but would have regarded it as an act of vandalism on the old one.
I’d got other interests and these clocks were more or less forgotten about until I was looking at a homological supplier’s web-site for something and spotting the new movements reminded me. I wondered if one of them could be sold to part fund either a new movement for the newer one or a proper repair for the old one. I also started trying to find out what sort of value the latter may have, but didn’t really manage to establish that.
I decided to have a go at bodging the old one by super-gluing bits of brass to the plates to hold the second wheel pivots where they should be. If this worked to any degree I would at least know that that was all that was wrong and I wasn’t doing anything permanent, like trying to punch the holes up would be. It worked fine after doing that.
I also set the big one up to see just what that did. I found that it would periodically stop but always a minute or so after it had called. This seemed a bit odd I could understand a fault with the calling stopping it when it tried to engage but not afterwards. If I locked the cuckoo’s door it would go for as long as I could be bothered to wait so it was definitely something to do with that.
After days of investigation the only thing that seemed off was the sprocket wheel on the call side. When I’d repaired it it hadn’t seemed a sensible way of doing things and it didn’t look like the one on the going side. I came to the conclusion that whoever had mended it before had done it wrong and I’d copied their error. After doing it properly, or how I believe to be properly, it went fine.
When I looked at that it had obviously been worked on before. It also isn’t actually a ratchet but a helical spring with one end fixed to the sprocket wheel. When you pull on the chain to wind it this spring relaxes allowing the wheel to run free but when you let go and the weight starts to pull the other end it grips the arbour tightly. I replaced it with one out of an old lamp holder.
A few weeks later it started stopping and I thought sod it as the Fates had obviously decreed that I wasn’t meant to have a cuckoo clock and that went into storage as well.
Obviously I could have had either of these looked at professionally but that would cost a fortune, more than a new cuckoo clock would cost. The trouble is that the old ‘back street’ clock repairers who’d go an OK job for a reasonable price are all long gone and all that are left are high class ones who’ll do a brilliant job and charge the earth. Besides that they won’t all stoop to working on cuckoo clocks.
The other option was to fit new movements. These aren’t exactly cheap but still less than half what I’d expect to pay to have one repaired. I wouldn’t have minded doing that with the 1950s one but would have regarded it as an act of vandalism on the old one.
I’d got other interests and these clocks were more or less forgotten about until I was looking at a homological supplier’s web-site for something and spotting the new movements reminded me. I wondered if one of them could be sold to part fund either a new movement for the newer one or a proper repair for the old one. I also started trying to find out what sort of value the latter may have, but didn’t really manage to establish that.
I decided to have a go at bodging the old one by super-gluing bits of brass to the plates to hold the second wheel pivots where they should be. If this worked to any degree I would at least know that that was all that was wrong and I wasn’t doing anything permanent, like trying to punch the holes up would be. It worked fine after doing that.
I also set the big one up to see just what that did. I found that it would periodically stop but always a minute or so after it had called. This seemed a bit odd I could understand a fault with the calling stopping it when it tried to engage but not afterwards. If I locked the cuckoo’s door it would go for as long as I could be bothered to wait so it was definitely something to do with that.
After days of investigation the only thing that seemed off was the sprocket wheel on the call side. When I’d repaired it it hadn’t seemed a sensible way of doing things and it didn’t look like the one on the going side. I came to the conclusion that whoever had mended it before had done it wrong and I’d copied their error. After doing it properly, or how I believe to be properly, it went fine.
Whilst doing these jobs I’d been looking at e-Bay to get ideas of values and to buy things like new numerals for the old clock. I saw a rather nice empty case on sale for very little so bought that thinking I could get the bits to go in it as and when.
Soon after I saw a clock advertised as “Not Working” which I got for a reasonable price. There was very little wrong with this but it had the same problem as my childhood one of having the pipes glued in. Luckily they broke free without too much of a fight. This was one of the smallest ones that can be regarded as ‘proper’ cuckoo clocks and I rather liked it. It certainly seemed too good to break up so I re-finished it and planned to put it back on e-Bay to at least recoup my money and maybe even make a few bob. However, a friend had said that she liked cuckoo clocks so I gave it to her.
Soon after I saw a clock advertised as “Not Working” which I got for a reasonable price. There was very little wrong with this but it had the same problem as my childhood one of having the pipes glued in. Luckily they broke free without too much of a fight. This was one of the smallest ones that can be regarded as ‘proper’ cuckoo clocks and I rather liked it. It certainly seemed too good to break up so I re-finished it and planned to put it back on e-Bay to at least recoup my money and maybe even make a few bob. However, a friend had said that she liked cuckoo clocks so I gave it to her.
It wasn’t long before another turned up that appeared to have fallen off the wall or been dropped. That provided the bits I needed plus some over. I could also mend most of the wooden parts and I sold the excess bits and got back only a few shillings short of what I’d paid for the whole thing.
I finally had a go at my very first one. These pipes too came out fairly easily. The movement is incredibly crude with very puny plates. Apart from needing cleaning that too had an elongated hole on the second wheel. I stuck a bit of copper wire in that and it goes better than it ever did. The plates are so thin that I wouldn’t fancy doing a proper bushing even if I could. Ideally I’d completely re-build it with thicker ones.
I finally had a go at my very first one. These pipes too came out fairly easily. The movement is incredibly crude with very puny plates. Apart from needing cleaning that too had an elongated hole on the second wheel. I stuck a bit of copper wire in that and it goes better than it ever did. The plates are so thin that I wouldn’t fancy doing a proper bushing even if I could. Ideally I’d completely re-build it with thicker ones.
