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Hettich Floating balance 'Aniversary' style repair help


Tmuir

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I've posted this on another forum too, but thought people here may be interested in this clock too, as I think it is an interesting clock being it is essentially a weight driven floating balance clock, but the weight is lifted be an electric solenoid around every 60 seconds or so. I know its not a valuable clock, but it is one I remember from my childhood and it would be good to get it going again.

I was given a Hettich battery operated anniversary style clock today which used to be my grandmothers.
My father has had it sitting in his shed for atleast the last 15 years and it needs some help, thankfully the glass dome was over the clock so the movement is not full of 15 years worth of shed dust.
From what I understand this clock has a floating balance that has been made to look like an anniversary clock and has a solenoid that drives around once every 60 seconds and pulls a weight up that then runs the clock.
Besides needing a general clean it has two issues.
The first issue is one of the two pawls that transfers the power to the movement looks to of lost its spring so the weight just drops down straight away once the solenoid disengages which I'm assuming once I get the movement apart I will be able to see what the problem is and resolve that one, but the second problem I would like some advice on.
I believe the balance rod is held in place by a suspension wire, but this is broken on the clock.
Can anyone give me some pointers on how to replace it as from what I have read I should not dismantle the pillars or balance from the clock as it is problematic to put back together.
Anyhow here are some photos of the clock, yes I'm aware the second hand needs some tweaking too and the base needs some serious polishing...
I tried to get a photo of the pawl issue but couldn't get a good photo of it, but the broken wire is obvious.
thanks
Tony

Hettich1.png

Hettich3.png

Hettich2.png

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I have a mechanical mantle clock that has a "floating balance" such as pic below. I read somewhere that the advantage of this style of balance is that the clock movement does not need to be perfectly level. Yours seems to be a take on this but electric driven. The issue you will have if sources parts.

 

Screen Shot 2016-11-06 at 12.56.47.png

 

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Timuir sorry I have no knowledge of this type of clock.

Clockboy your picture looks like its a Smiths strike floating balance.

I read somewhere that the advantage of this style of balance is that the clock movement does not need to be perfectly level. Correct, no setting up of a pendulum and the floating balance should already be set in beat at the factory. 

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I've just been told on another forum that as long as I don't bend the helical spring this is a pretty straight forward repair and the suspension wire with the exception of feeding it through the tube is an easy replacement and the other fault is also a common issue easily fixed.

If I get this one working again I think my father wants it back, but considering the next clock they have for me to service I've been told I can keep and its the family's 1880s / 1890s  Ansonia Triumph clock I'm happy with the trade.

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30 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Timuir sorry I have no knowledge of this type of clock.

Clockboy your picture looks like its a Smiths strike floating balance.

I read somewhere that the advantage of this style of balance is that the clock movement does not need to be perfectly level. Correct, no setting up of a pendulum and the floating balance should already be set in beat at the factory. 

Spot on Oldhippy.

 

30 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Timuir sorry I have no knowledge of this type of clock.

Clockboy your picture looks like its a Smiths strike floating balance.

I read somewhere that the advantage of this style of balance is that the clock movement does not need to be perfectly level. Correct, no setting up of a pendulum and the floating balance should already be set in beat at the factory. 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Finished restoring this clock a few days ago and gave it back to my dad today.

I used a superfine E guitar string to restring the floating balance and other than some serious polishing on the base the rest was quite straight forward, a strip and clean of the movement followed by oiling and some tweaking of the crutch that was bent when the wire snapped.

It was something different and I enjoyed fixing it.

I got it down to around 30 seconds a day before I returned it this morning and left my dad with instructions on how to further adjust it as I think it should be able to do better than 30 seconds a day.

Hettich4.png

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I only had it for just over 30 hours after fixing before I had to return it, so didn't get to spend enough time on adjusting it.

If I had it for another week I'm sure I could get it a lot better, it started at about 4 minutes a day fast before I started to adjust it. (basing that on a 1 minute gain over 6 hours)

Guess when it was last used the oil was starting to gum it up and slow it down so with a clean and a lube it was now running fast.

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  • 6 months later...

Hi, You should be able to pop that Drive Pawl back into the grove, You just have to make sure that the spring has enough tension on it to keep the pawl able to lock the wheel.  I have seven of these Hettich Clocks, and it takes a little tweeking to get Them straight.  Here are a few pointers, The top section that holds the two pins is adjustable circular wise with a very fine screwdriver in the slot, The two pins should point directly forward.  The bottom part that holds the suspension spring is also adjustable horizontal and vertical.  just be careful of the suspension spring.  Once You have the two pins lined up at the top, you can adjust the balls at the bottom so they are centered also. That Tube rides on a .009 diameter wire that is a pain if it breaks.  You use the bottom adjuster to keep the brass shaft from touching either the top or the bottom, It should float freely.  Now the balance balls unscrew so you can adjust the speed, in towards center speeds it up, out slows it down. once You are close to proper speed, use the screws the same way to micro manage the speed, I usually start by turning them all the way in and then unscrew them all the way out counting the half turns., and then screw them halfway in before adjusting the balls.  Any other questions, drop Me a line.  Too bad You're way over there, I would fix for You for free.  Tim.   [email protected]

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  • 11 months later...

Hello Tmuir,

I also found a similar clock in the shed, I cant see why it wont work and after browsing a number of sites you seem to be the main man. My clock has same workings as the one you repaired but a much simpler face. I thought it must be a solonoid but that is as far as my knowledge goes. Can you help?

Thanks Lynne

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  • 1 month later...

A quick google search came up with these three. The second and third look most promising, the third mentions anniversary clocks. I would start with that first.

http://www.timecraft.com.au/

https://dutchtimepieces.com/

http://www.clock-works.com.au/

There is also a yellow pages to look through which is here.

https://www.yellowpages.com.au/find/clocks-repairs/greater-perth-wa

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I suggest have a look at this link.

It lists all the watch and clock makers that our full members of the Master Clock and Watch Makers of Western Australian Inc.

You can trust people on this link as being genuinely qualified, not that there is anything wrong with the 3 links that oldhippy has also given, I just don't know them.

As full disclosure I am also an associate member of the MCAWA as I am currently a student watchmaker, but I am not yet taking on other peoples items to repair.

http://www.wcawa.org.au/ClockWatchRepairers.html

The Hettich is not a complicated clock.

What do you suspect is is the problem, but if it needs parts they are not easy to come by, but the balance spring looks good which would be the biggest issue if it was damaged.

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Thank you Tmuir

The person who looked at it thinks it is this part that is broken. https://timesavers.com/i-24049954-large-hettich-clock-fork.html

He has made other minor repairs but not confident to take the clock apart and reassemble.

I will follow up on your suggestions. Here is a link to photo of particular area that we think needs replacing. There is a hook that comes down to spring.

Cheers

mumspresent

clock.msg

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I didn't even know you could get any spare parts for these clocks.

Is it just the brass fork that is broken, or the whole pin pallet escapement?

If the escapement needs to be repivotted it could be done, but may cost more than the clock is worth.

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  • 1 year later...
On 7/3/2017 at 10:03 PM, timdecook said:

Hi, You should be able to pop that Drive Pawl back into the grove, You just have to make sure that the spring has enough tension on it to keep the pawl able to lock the wheel.  I have seven of these Hettich Clocks, and it takes a little tweeking to get Them straight.  Here are a few pointers, The top section that holds the two pins is adjustable circular wise with a very fine screwdriver in the slot, The two pins should point directly forward.  The bottom part that holds the suspension spring is also adjustable horizontal and vertical.  just be careful of the suspension spring.  Once You have the two pins lined up at the top, you can adjust the balls at the bottom so they are centered also. That Tube rides on a .009 diameter wire that is a pain if it breaks.  You use the bottom adjuster to keep the brass shaft from touching either the top or the bottom, It should float freely.  Now the balance balls unscrew so you can adjust the speed, in towards center speeds it up, out slows it down. once You are close to proper speed, use the screws the same way to micro manage the speed, I usually start by turning them all the way in and then unscrew them all the way out counting the half turns., and then screw them halfway in before adjusting the balls.  Any other questions, drop Me a line.  Too bad You're way over there, I would fix for You for free.  Tim.   [email protected]

Hi timdecook - Thanks for sharing your experience on this item.In my case the pendulum stopped working as the wire broke ( I found a 1 cm straight wire and a second part wound like a tiny spring, which seems to hook on the end pin holding up the pendulum at the lower end) .  Do you have any hints about securing the end of the wire at the bottom end of the pendulum.I imagine the pendulum should rotate independently of the wire.

Thanks  

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Are you talking about the wire that passes through the middle of the rotating penulum and is only there to hold it upright, or the spring that provides the force to return the pendulum back the other way?

If it's the spring that has broken then this is a problem as it will be too short now to work correctly.

If it is just the wire that goes through the middle of the pendulum rod that is easy although a little fiddley.

Measure the wire to get the diameter and you will find that an the syperfime guitar strings will work well. I used the E string.

It should just pass through the hole in the bolt in the bottom of the base, then tie a knot in it so it cant passed back through and then the other end is pulled tight and held in place by a screw.

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On 4/10/2020 at 1:43 PM, Tmuir said:

Are you talking about the wire that passes through the middle of the rotating penulum and is only there to hold it upright, or the spring that provides the force to return the pendulum back the other way?

If it's the spring that has broken then this is a problem as it will be too short now to work correctly.

If it is just the wire that goes through the middle of the pendulum rod that is easy although a little fiddley.

Measure the wire to get the diameter and you will find that an the syperfime guitar strings will work well. I used the E string.

It should just pass through the hole in the bolt in the bottom of the base, then tie a knot in it so it cant passed back through and then the other end is pulled tight and held in place by a screw.

 

On 4/13/2020 at 5:31 AM, Oldtimer10 said:

Thanks ...Its the wire - got my E String. I will follow your kind advice .  

Hi again Tmuir.....thanks for replying. You are right it is a bit fiddly...but I did manage to dismantle and refit wire...but to no avail:

- Apologies but I worked on clock rather hurriedly and did not take any photos....I might repeat process and document all actions to provide better details.

- I observed that I did not get the old wire out but only the ends. E string went back in just the same. Pendulum seems to move freely, although I can hear the wire knot scraping noise as the pendulum turns 

- I checked if the terminals  feeding circuitry (underneath stand)  and they have a current in them and it seemed ok.

- The Magnetic bracket had fallen off and I glued it back in.  

Really I can't imagine what other mechanical issue there is (unless its the electronics). 

Thanks and regards

 

 

20200414_075023.jpg

20200414_074633.jpg

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That's interesting, your clock says 'quartz' on the dial, so it won't be an electromechanical one like mine, yours will have a completely different type of mechanism in it. Depending on the mechanism it may not be repairable.

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