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Old cuckoo clock music man wire is broken off

MKC

By MKC
in All Things Clocks

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MKC Member

MKC

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Hi to all! After I got my HAC up and running with great help from here (thank you again!) I have gone back to tinkering with cuckoo clocks and I have a new problem.. I have a 1950s cuckoo with a music box and the music man attachment wire is broken and he needs to be re-attached. (His head was also cracked, but that was easy to deal with .. even if I could not make him look very happy, lol !). I had to deal with quite a bit of rust all over the movement, I have cleaned things the best I could and I need to try to reattach the wooden man.. but how?? I am a total new learner on my own... I assume I have to try to solder the wire attachment? But what kind of solder wire should I use and what temperature etc etc?  (Is there a particular solder iron I should look for as I do not yet own one. I only own and have ever used a wood burning iron, hah.) I don't want to end up ruining the music box as it actually does sound quite lovely despite it's ratty look. Thanks again in advance for any helpful suggestions!! I will attach an image here too. The yellow circle shows the area where the music man should be perched on.

Music man.jpg

watchweasol Distinguished Member

watchweasol

Posted
Posted

Hi. Soldering is quite straight forward, the main thing is cleaning the areas to be soldered treating with flux and using resin core solder all available fron hardware stores. Soldering irons come in all shapes and sizes. Pistol grip irons , straight tip, spade tip , round tip.  I personally have a seller workstation with four interchangeable tips, probably best value because it covers most bases. But again depends how much you are going to use it, so it’s a cost thing, solder comes in reels or tubes with a few yards inside.

remember to clean thoroughly the joint to be soldered for the best result..     If the point where the wee man fits has a projection requiring a butt joint fit a sleeve over the joint preferably of brass or copper.

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MKC Member

MKC

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On 2/29/2024 at 3:46 PM, watchweasol said:

Hi. Soldering is quite straight forward, the main thing is cleaning the areas to be soldered treating with flux and using resin core solder all available fron hardware stores. Soldering irons come in all shapes and sizes. Pistol grip irons , straight tip, spade tip , round tip.  I personally have a seller workstation with four interchangeable tips, probably best value because it covers most bases. But again depends how much you are going to use it, so it’s a cost thing, solder comes in reels or tubes with a few yards inside.

remember to clean thoroughly the joint to be soldered for the best result..     If the point where the wee man fits has a projection requiring a butt joint fit a sleeve over the joint preferably of brass or copper.

Thank you very much! This is very helpful. I will figure out how far I want to go with the soldering. These old clocks are like rabbit holes and cuckoos have turned out to be particularly vexing to me. A new music box would probably be the smartest solution, but that would not have a wooden, cranky looking Music Man with a cracked (but repaired!) head 🙂

watchweasol Distinguished Member

watchweasol

Posted
Posted

Hi originality is always best, to be kept as it was when made with all its bruises and chip/dings. These are all what it gathered in life, I hate as new restorations as they remove the history from the clock.  Plenty of patience will be required and an investment in time good luck  and come back if you need help.

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