clock beat

[Willow]

Just received my latest edition to the clock family, not ready to strip it down and clean yet, i was just wondering if someone could tell me if it beating to fast, its kept good time for a day but it seems to be going like the clappers or is this normal for this type of movement.Thanks.

PS sorry about my wife's foot in the video she would go mad if she knew

[watchweasol]

It Does seem quite fast but the acid test is it keeping good time, I was probably build to operate as is and geared to suit  ,  and as long as the time keeping is accurate  that's what counts. 

[Marc]

I'm currently sitting in my work room where I have a Bentima clock which has a platform escapement just like yours and it's the loudest clock I have ever come across. It's currently ticking away keeping great time at 18000bph. I just watched your video and was amused to find that your clock seemed to be sychronised with mine.

If the time keeping is right then the beat rate is right.

[Willow]

Thanks both of you for your replies i will leave it for a few days or my be a week and see how the time is keeping. So the escapement is not just made for Elliott are they English or foreign made for Elliott do you know.

[oldhippy]

I have two of those clocks and they keep perfect time. Check the platform certainly the hairspring.  

[Willow]

Thanks for your input I will leave it for a few days or a week and see how the time is

So are you saying oldhippy that it is beating to fast though it seems to be keeping time

 

[watchweasol]

The escapement is probably a bought in assembly as it would have been cheaper than devloping and making your own, obtained from a specialist platform maker.  Have a look when you take the clock to pieces if there is and mark on the platform plates.

[oldhippy]

Depends what you call beating too fast. If you are not that familiar with the sound of a platform escapement to you it might sound as if it is racing. One of the more common things that can make it sound fast is if the hairspring has dirt or a tiny hair on it, then you would expect it to race just like a watch movement. As it stops after  a day it is most likely dirt, It could have a worn hole but these movements are extremely good and made of very hard brass and steel. They are an easy movement to take apart and repair. You might have to do that to find the problem but check the platform first.    

[wls1971]

2 hours ago, Willow said:

So the escapement is not just made for Elliott are they English or foreign made for Elliott do you know.

When Elliott started producing platform escapement clocks they used 11 jewel Swiss made escapements from 1920 to 1929, they supplemented the Swiss platform with some 11 jewel escapement made in France between 1924 to 1929 but still mainly used the Swiss, they then switched to English made Rotherham and sons 11 jewel  used from 1929 to 1948 during the war they had difficulty with supplies of these platforms due to production going to the war effort so on the odd occasion they used Smiths ABEC platforms.

From 1948 onwards they used French l'Epee platforms Starting with an 11 jewel but much later using 7 jewel escapements again during difficulties in post war supplies they would switch to the Smiths platforms.

Your platform is from the later period of production and is a 7 jewel L'Epee used from the late 1950's to when production finally ended, there are some more uncommon L'Epee's used in this period as well mainly the L'Epee silent tick which had a extra hairspring attached to the escape wheel arbour this had the effect of dampening the action and reducing the noise produced by the escape wheel interacting with the anchor.

These are very robust escapements and there is little difference if any in performance between the 11 and 7 jewel platforms, they do tend to be very loud, I can tell from your video that the amplitude appears to be good because I can see the roller jewel flicking a good way round as it runs.

Edited December 11, 2020 by wls1971

[Willow]

Thanks for your input I will leave it for a few days or a week and see how the time is. Sorry oldhippy my fault I only got it yesterday I have not explained myself right it's keeping good time up to now its not stopped yet.

[Willow]

Wow thanks for the information watchweasol, think I need to sit down and digest thats great information did you get that from the web

[watchweasol]

Hi You have   wls1971  to thank for that comprehensive chapter on the platform escapement and very thorough it was and interesting as well. I would be interested from whence it was gleaned as well.

[Willow]

Thanks watchweasol apologies wls1971, yes very interesting.

[wls1971]

A comprehensive history of clock production from 1900 onwards in England can be gleaned from "Clockmaking in England and Wales in the Twentieth Century" by John Glenville and William M Wolmuth

Put it on your Christmas list it's a great book.

[JohnR725]

12 hours ago, watchweasol said:

It Does seem quite fast but the acid test is it keeping good time, I was probably build to operate as is and geared to suit  ,  and as long as the time keeping is accurate  that's what counts. 

I find that sometimes videos look misleading but that escape wheel is turning really fast. Except as quoted above if the hands are moving at the correct rate then it's right

8 hours ago, wls1971 said:

These are very robust escapements and there is little difference if any in performance between the 11 and 7 jewel platforms, they do tend to be very loud, I can tell from your video that the amplitude appears to be good because I can see the roller jewel flicking a good way round as it runs.

One of the things you missed to do description a platform escapement's is? In clock making they can run at all kinds of different frequencies because there weren't necessarily any standards. You make the clock whatever size you want and whatever rate you want for the most part. But on a watch escapement like a platform they would usually correspond to the frequencies of watches at least I'm assuming? So I assume that platform is a standard 18,000 bph?

Then my initial reaction to the video is it's running too darn fast but before I posted this message I went back and looked at the video again a couple of times and I do find My initial observations appear to be incorrect if I listen and watch the thing it looks right.

[wls1971]

8 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

But on a watch escapement like a platform they would usually correspond to the frequencies of watches at least I'm assuming? So I assume that platform is a standard 18,000 bph?

The French, Swiss and L'Epee are 18,000 bph I'm not sure on the Rotherham platforms because I do own Rotherham clocks and they are 14,400 bph I did have a Elliott clock with Rotherhams escapement but cant remember if it was  made to 18,000bph or 14.400bph for Elliott clocks.

[oldhippy]

It depends on the wheel and pinion count. 

[watchweasol]

Hi Willow  here is a little reading on escapements very complex maths and geometry but worth a read through.

EscMechanics.pdf

[KarlvonKoln]

Having worked mostly on pocket watches, I gotta say: that looks a lot like 18,000 bph.  But like others have said, if it is keeping good time over a duration with no other issues then, like some other platform escapements I have also seen, it was likely designed to move faster than other types of clock. Time-keeping is the whole point. If it has that, then just keep it cleaned and lubed and it'll be fine.

[oldhippy]

As I said it depends on the count. Here you are if you want to work it out. 

http://www.m-p.co.uk/formulae/pivcount.htm