For Old Hippy...

[stroppy]

O.H.  I have an old cuckoo clock my parents brought to Australia in the mid 50s.  I think it was new at the time.  It looks like the one below, only the oak leaves on the "roof" have old fashioned bronze muskets on top of them.  It's all wood...looking inside it is stamped "Made in West Germany" 

 

Anyway...years ago the niece and nephew did a little pulling number on the chains and the clock didn't work afterwards.  I have it in a box in the spare room.  My question is are they hard to fix?

[oldhippy]

Not that hard to fix. Can be fiddly if you don't know what you are doing, be careful, don't bend the wires inside. You say they pulled the chain, has it come off the main driving wheel. I would like a little bit more info if possible. 

[stroppy]

Not that hard to fix. Can be fiddly if you don't know what you are doing, be careful, don't bend the wires inside. You say they pulled the chain, has it come off the main driving wheel. I would like a little bit more info if possible. 

From what I can see no wires are bent but the chains are well and truly off.  The kids did a real number on it.  If I get a chance over the weekend I'll pull the good camera out and photograph the guts of it.  Thanks, O.H.

[oldhippy]

How did the photos go over the weekend stroppy?

[Peixian]

gorgeous clock! so cool! how old is it ! antique!

best wishes to your nice clock!

[oldhippy]

gorgeous clock! so cool! how old is it ! antique!

best wishes to your nice clock!

stroppy says in his opening post Peixian, so I hope it answers your question.

I have an old cuckoo clock my parents brought to Australia in the mid 50s. I think it was new at the time.

[stroppy]

How did the photos go over the weekend stroppy?

Sorry O.H.  We had a family disaster this last weekend that screwed things up, time-wise.  I pulled the good camera out but even in macro-mode the photos are too blurry or indistinct.

 

There's a guy who lives near me who specialises in antique clock repair so I might haul the clock over there for him to look at and I'll update you with his opinion.

[stroppy]

gorgeous clock! so cool! how old is it ! antique!

best wishes to your nice clock!

Hi Peixian.  The clock was made in about 1950, from what I have been able to work out.  O.H. would probably confirm that there were huge numbers of these clocks sold post-war as this sort of cottage-industry clock making was one of the first to get back on its feet after WWII.  I do know it was one of the more pricier units on offer because my dad told me that my grandfather paid a fortune for it.  

 

One of my fondest memories of dad was him getting up at the end of his evening sitting in front of the tv and chilling out and going over to the Cuckoo clock and pulling the chains to wind it up.  He'd also adjust the hands according to his lovely Grimsel watch.  He was a stickler for the correct time and every night at 6pm when the national government broadcaster's news service chimed in he would check and adjust the time on his watch.  It's an obsession I have inherited.  I frequently check the watch I am wearing against the digital display of my DAB+ radio in the living room.  Digital tv and radio in Australia have time signals built into device displays that are accurately adjusted against an atomic clock signal coming into Canberra, the national capital.

[bobm12]

Nothing wrong with punctuality and accurate time. I personally don't believe in the "fashionable late" thing. For me, it spells "you lost your opportunity, try again next time...IF EVER" . 

 

It is funny because the more accurate our time telling instruments become the less punctual people seem to be...punctuality is a lost art in some parts. Oh, well, it doesn't matter as long as watches exist and we can keep our hobby/profession going. Let people being late so we can show them first our watch of the day and then the door!    :)

[oldhippy]

The first cuckoo clocks had fusee movements and stood on tables or mantle pieces and mainly would have an 8 day movement. They were nothing like what we have today. The early wall type would have a decretive cuckoo and in many movements would flap their wings when the door opened and strike the time. The hands on the old type would be made of ivory and where quit thick, today's are plastic or type of and thin. It's an easy way to tell if its old or one of the more modern types. Same with the bellows quit thick skin old type, modern nothing more than paper and in some cases part plastic.

[stroppy]

The first cuckoo clocks had fusee movements and stood on tables or mantle pieces and mainly would have an 8 day movement. They were nothing like what we have today. The early wall type would have a decretive cuckoo and in many movements would flap their wings when the door opened and strike the time. The hands on the old type would be made of ivory and where quit thick, today's are plastic or type of and thin. It's an easy way to tell if its old or one of the more modern types. Same with the bellows quit thick skin old type, modern nothing more than paper and in some cases part plastic.

My clock has what looks like thin wood or cardboard rectangular "flutes" which generated the cuckoo sound.

[stroppy]

Nothing wrong with punctuality and accurate time. I personally don't believe in the "fashionable late" thing. For me, it spells "you lost your opportunity, try again next time...IF EVER" . 

 

It is funny because the more accurate our time telling instruments become the less punctual people seem to be...punctuality is a lost art in some parts. Oh, well, it doesn't matter as long as watches exist and we can keep our hobby/profession going. Let people being late so we can show them first our watch of the day and then the door!    :)

Totally agree!  My nephew calls being jalf an hour late "fashionable"...I call it rude!

[oldhippy]

My clock has what looks like thin wood or cardboard rectangular "flutes" which generated the cuckoo sound.

That would fit in with your dating of the 50's.