Share your favorites on Show & Tell

Black Forrest Cuckoo Clock

In Clocks > Cuckoo Clocks > Show & Tell.
EZa's items27 of 41Bohemian "End-of-Day" Spatter Glass BowlHalloween black cat figurines
13
Love it
0
Like it

TheGateKeeperTheGateKeeper loves this.
SEAN68SEAN68 loves this.
blunderbuss2blunderbuss2 loves this.
Virginia.vintageVirginia.vintage loves this.
Bruce99Bruce99 loves this.
vetraio50vetraio50 loves this.
fortapachefortapache loves this.
shawnicusshawnicus loves this.
toolate2toolate2 loves this.
otiamariaotiamaria loves this.
paultemplerpaultempler loves this.
officialfuelofficialfuel loves this.
aghcollectaghcollect loves this.
See 11 more
Add to collection

    Please create an account, or Log in here

    If you don't have an account, create one here.


    Create a Show & TellReport as inappropriate


    Posted 10 years ago

    EZa
    (41 items)

    I acquired this giant Cuckoo about 30 years ago in a little town in Arizona at an antique store for about 65$. My dad has been storing it for me since then, and I finally put it up. He paid to have the internal works repaired in 87'. There are two cuckoos and doors at the front. There are 3 pinecone weights with the largest in center for the clock. The measurements are about 21 1/2"top to bottom and 17 1/4" side to side. There are 3 pinecones, and the largest is 7". Unfortunately I can only put up 4 photos. On bottom is 992 RA. On back panel are initials G H S it looks like with two more of those S shapes at upper left hand corner. Underneath it says Made in Germany which is nearly worn off. It runs unreliably so far, but cuckoos on both sides and strikes the back panel. I'm sitting back and observing how it runs for a while.....but what a beautiful piece of work this is!

    Unsolved Mystery

    Help us close this case. Add your knowledge below.

    logo
    Cuckoo Clocks
    See all
    Vintage Large German Musical Cuckoo Clock with Deer/Stag Topper Pine Trees 24
    Vintage Large German Musical Cuckoo...
    $180
    Cuckoo Clock Antique Wood Maple Leaf Pendulum, 2 Weights, 16 × 15 × 5 Parts Only
    Cuckoo Clock Antique Wood Maple Lea...
    $76
    1pc Wooden Cuckoo Wall Clock Wood Cuckoo Clock Vintage Wood Clock
    1pc Wooden Cuckoo Wall Clock Wood C...
    $19
    VINTAGE 14k YELLOW GOLD MOVEABLE 3D CUCKOO CLOCK CHARM bird pops out
    VINTAGE 14k YELLOW GOLD MOVEABLE 3D...
    $369
    logo
    Vintage Large German Musical Cuckoo Clock with Deer/Stag Topper Pine Trees 24
    Vintage Large German Musical Cuckoo...
    $180
    See all

    Comments

    1. fortapache fortapache, 10 years ago
      Double birdie very cool.
    2. shawnicus shawnicus, 10 years ago
      beautiful piece,..nice thing about a big one like that is you can get some decent clock oil and get a lil drop on every pivot (axle) you can find,..also pendulum clocks are picky about being level,..get in close and listen to the tick tock ,..should be even,..if it isn't shift it a little till its even,..its an awesome clock and i think you got a good deal,..i love my cuckoo clocks heheeh . Also,..is there a music box in it? not sure why it has 3 weights
    3. shawnicus shawnicus, 10 years ago
      oops the oil i LOVE for my clocks is nanolube,..pretty much magic,.ive brought back to good runability a LOAD of thriftshop clocks with it,..and a little bottle will last seemingly forever
    4. EZa EZa, 10 years ago
      Thanks shawnicus, I never thought about clock oil or keeping it level. Great ideas! I was wondering if it did something else, it seems to have a third bellows? behind one of the other bellows, and related opening on the side. I assumed the big weight in the middle for the clock gears, and smaller weights for the cuckoo birds? Anyway, cuckoo clocks are fascinating!
    5. Bruce99 Bruce99, 10 years ago
      Three gear train (weight or spring) clocks that I'm familiar with have one train for keeping time, one for quarterly chiming (or cuckoos), and a third for the hourly strike. Generally speaking, the heaviest weight (or strongest spring) drives the quarterly chime. They need a lot of torque because they have to drive the chiming mechanisms and still be geared to get a lot of mileage out of a single wind.

      For every pivot you see on the back brass plate, there is another one on the front plate. In order to properly lubricate a clock's mechanism you'll need access to the front plate. That usually involves removing the mechanism from the case. Getting a Cuckoo Clock's movement re-installed and adjusted is not an easy thing for a beginner.

      Everyone has their favorite oil. A good, basic clock oil is not expensive. I prefer Ney Synthetic Clock oil. I've also been experimenting with Mobil 1 Synthetic Engine Oil. If you attempt to oil your clock, use very small amounts! Over oiling is one of most common mistakes people make. Here's a good tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9YrBcKiHA4

      Good luck with it and thanks for sharing.
    6. shawnicus shawnicus, 10 years ago
      there is a shortcut to the front of the movement,..on cuckoo clocks its easy to remove the hands,..small nut holds on the minit and the hour is just pushed on,..and the dial face is held on with just 3 or 4 small pins/nails,..if your gentle you can gently pry it off,..ans when it comes away you have access to the whole front of the movement,..yous is a pretty cool antique so i might have a clock person do it,..don't want to bust it trying to fix it,..specialy since there isn't much wrong with it,..shouldn't cost too much to get it oiled
    7. Virginia.vintage Virginia.vintage, 10 years ago
      How I love your clock, stunning!!!
    8. slackjack, 10 years ago
      Your clock is a cuckoo and quail. The quail sounds every quarter hour and the cuckoo sounds on the hour. The smallest bellows is the quail pipe. The GHS identifies your clock as made by Gordian Hettich Sons in the black forest. These clocks came with three weights all the same size. Perhaps someone has added a heavier weight because it won't work with the lesser weight. Means it needs cleaning, adjusting, repair. 1987 was a long time ago ! Usually four to five years between cleaning and lubricating. Cuckoo clocks suffer from dust because the case has many open holes other clocks don't have. Stay cuckoo........
    9. EZa EZa, 10 years ago
      OK, man I love CW! I was hoping someone could identify this clock, and you helped me out slackjack, shawnicus, and Bruce99. A lot of really great information and advice. I'm afraid to do too much to it, so I think I'll find a reputable clock person to clean and oil it. There is a lot going on in there. The weights are very lovely, too, so something to think about with the different sizes. A really neat treasure for sure. Thank you all.

    Want to post a comment?

    Create an account or login in order to post a comment.