Posted 6 years ago
Lamplover78
(261 items)
This big beauty is finally getting cleaned and hopefully fixed. The string had broke and the weight had fell. The guy took off the pendulum, and i just can't believe how much mercury was in there! It's very heavy. Ive never seen anything like it. Just wanted to share!
Wow! A Beauty!
Luck was the mercury didn't run everywhere when it falled...
And luck to find someone who can fix it and bring it back to life :-D
That is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. If you ever get a little nervous about having that much mercury hanging by a suspension spring, look into having the pendulum rod replaced by a rod of "Invar" and the Mercury replaced by a cylinder of lead. The Mercury is for Temperature compensation. As the temperature rises, the pendulum rod lengthens and the mercury expands up to compensate. Invar is relatively unaffected by temperature fluctuations so there's no need for Mercury. Most folks are reluctant to alter an all original antique though, and I tend to agree with that sentiment. You can always place something in the base of the Tall Case to catch and cushion the pendulum in the event that something in the suspension fails.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Brunswick, this is my second floor landing.
Hopefully you didn't 'clean' the clock movement with that can of WD40 sitting there. That stuff is the worst thing to put on a clock. I would walk two miles in tight shoes for a clock like that in my house. OH YES !
Oh my! I didn't even notice that WD40 sitting in the background. Strange place to store it, no? Yikes! It's good for many things, but as slackjack states, lubricating clocks definitely *ain't* one of them! If it's been used on your movement by "the guy", take it to a reputable clock shop, or have a reputable clock repair person come look at it. Nice, thick movement plates, temperature compensated pendulum. Bet it's a great time-keeper. Made to last...
You may find this of interest: http://www.benwrightclocks.co.uk/pdf/condliff-collection.pdf