400 day clocks

nevenbekriev · April 1

Most of the torsion clocks I have worked on came to me with replaced torsion spring and for some reason, the spring appeared not correct for the movement (or the pendulum) and the period of oscillations differed from needed one and was impossible to compensate by pendulum regulation. I actually never asked how and why, just figured out and developed a way to solve the problem using the existing springs, no mater if they were thicker or thinner. I have used piece of hairspring from chinese 'Shanghai' alarm clock in 2 cases where the torsion spring was missing complitelly, with the needed correction to obtain correct preiod. I have never ordered springs - in the past it was not possible, and later - it was not needed as I have the solution in my drawer...

dnhb · April 5

On 4/1/2024 at 8:39 AM, Dell said:

The most important part to get thinned is between the top block and fork as this is the bit that does the work.

Dell

Thanks to your advice Dell I've got the clock running, apparently reliably (time will tell!) and it's back for sale in the Charity Shop (they've put a £40 ticket on it). I'm still in the process of regulating it in situ - initially fast by ~5 mins a day & waiting to see what effect one complete turn of the '+-' wheel has. Looking back over the experience I can see I hadn't appreciated just how delicate these torsion springs are and have been lucky not to break this one although I have manged to kink it at both top & bottom when fitting/removing it from the 'blocks'. On this basis, it seems that one answer to my earlier question about what causes the need for the top block housing to be turned left or right to get it 'in beat' is how 'true' the spring is & the angle at which it emerges from the blocks if not exactly 90 degrees. I also found that I needed to shim one of the movements supporting pillars. I'm very grateful for the interest you & others have shown in my little project.

On 3/31/2024 at 6:58 PM, nevenbekriev said:

I thought I am the inventor of thinning torsion springs... My advice is to use this kind of tool to strain the spring in order to avoid the risk of curling it.

Then, just piece of grit 1000 sanding paper needed, folded in two with the sanding surface inside. Squeeze it between fingers and slide it on the spring 2-3 times fully from one end to the other. Then try the period of the pendulum. !!! it is easy to overdo thinning and make pendulum too slow !!!

That seems a good idea Nev. Unfortunately I didn't have such a device to hand but will look out for one for future use - time-consuming (not to say frustrating) though working on this 400-day example was, I haven't been put off addressing another one should the occasion arise....

Edited April 5 by dnhb