CLEANING AND REPAIRING CUCKOO CLOCKS.
The cuckoos are in a class by themselves for several reasons, all
of which have to do with their construction and should therefore be
understood by the watchmaker. They are bought as timepieces by but two
classes of people: those who were used to them in their former homes in
Europe and buy them for sentimental reasons; and those who admire fine
wood carvings as works of art and desire to possess a finely carved
cuckoo clock for the reasons which govern in the purchase of paintings
and statuary, bronzes, and other art objects. For this reason cuckoos
have never been a success when attempts have been made to cheapen their
production by the use of imitations of wood carving in composition
or metal. The use of cuckoos in plain cases, with springs instead of
weights, has also been attempted with the idea of thereby securing
an inclosed movement, as in ordinary clocks; but while it offers
advantages in cleanliness and protection of the movement, such clocks
have never become popular, as they have lost their character as works
of art by being enclosed in plain cases, or have become rather erratic
in rate by the substitution of springs for weights.
The use of exposed weights and pendulum necessitates openings in the
bottom of the case through which the dust enters freely and this makes
necessary unusual side shake, end shake and freedom of depthing of the
wheels and pinions and also the use of lantern pinions and an amount
of driving weight in excess of that necessary for protected movements,
as there must be enough weight to pull the cuckoo movement through
obstructions which would stop the ordinary movement.
Repairers therefore should not attempt to close worn holes as snugly
as in the ordinary movements, as when this is done the clock generally
stops about three weeks after it has left the shop and a “comeback” is
the result. Lightening the driving weights will have the same result,
as the movement must have sufficient power to pull it through when
dirty. As the plates and wheels are generally of cast metal, cutting
of pivots from running dry is frequent in old clocks, and where it is
necessary to close the holes care must be taken not to overdo it.
Another point where repairers fail is in not polishing the pivots.
Many watchmakers seem to think that any kind of a pivot will do for a
clock, although they take great care of them in their watchwork. Rough
and dry pivots will cut the holes in a clock plate deep enough to wedge
the pivots in the holes like a stuck reamer and stop a clock just after
it has been repaired, when if they had been properly polished the job
would not have come back.
The high prices of wood carving in America and the necessity for its
genuineness, as explained above, has resulted in making it necessary
to spend as little as possible for the movements; hence we ordinarily
find a total lack of finish on the movements, and this, with the great
freedom everywhere evident in its construction and the apparent excess
of angular motion of the levers, combine to give it an appearance of
roughness which surprises those who see them but rarely.
It has been frequently suggested by watchmakers that if the cases only
were imported and the movements were made by the American factories
better results should be obtained, in appearance at least. They forget
that the bellows, pipes and birds, with their wires, are parts of the
movements and the cost of having these portions made in this country
is prohibitive, so that the whole movement is imported. Arrangements
are now being made by at least one firm to have the frames and wheels
made of sheet metal by automatic machinery, instead of being cast and
finished in the usual way, and when this is done the appearance of the
movements will be greatly improved, so that American watchmakers will
regard them with a more kindly eye. So far as is known to the writer
all cuckoo movements are imported, although one firm is doing a large
and constantly growing trade in such clocks with cases made in America.
There are a number of importing firms who sell to jobbers, large
retailers and clock companies only, and as the large American clock
manufacturers all list and carry cuckoos the clocks find their way
to the consumer through many and devious channels. Probably more are
sold in other ways than through the retailers for the reason that the
average retailer does not understand the cuckoos and is reluctant to
stock them, thereby deliberately avoiding a large amount of business
from which he might make a handsome profit.
Under the general term Cuckoos are listed several kinds of movements,
all having bellows, pipes and moving figures, such as the cuckoo,
cuckoo and quail, trumpeter, etc., with or without the regular hammers
and gongs of the ordinary movements.
Figs. 101 and 102 show front and back views of a time train in the
center with quail strike train on the left and cuckoo strike train
at the right. The positions of arbors, levers, depthings of trains,
etc., are exact, but the movement plates have been left off for
greater clearness, so that the arbors appear to be without support.
The positions of the pillars are shown by the shaded circles above and
below the trains in Fig. 101. The parts have the same letters in both
Figs. 101 and 102, although as the movement is turned around to show
the rear in 102, the quail train appears on the right side.
[Illustration: Fig. 101. Front View of Quail and Cuckoo Strike
Movement.]
NAMES OF PARTS.
A—Quail count wheel.
B—Quail striking cam.
C—Minute wheel.
D—Quail lifting lever.
E—Quail count hook.
F—Quail locking arm.
G—Quail bird stick; also called bird holder.
H—Quail bellows arm.
I—Quail bellows lifting lever.
J—Quail gong hammer.
K—Quail warning lever.
L—Quail lifting pin.
M—Quail bird stick lever.
N—Quail hammer lever.
O—Quail Lifting pin wheel.
P—Cuckoo lifting lever.
Q—Cuckoo warning lever.
R—Cuckoo lifting pin.
S—Cuckoo locking arm.
T—Cuckoo count hook.
U—Cuckoo striking cam.
V—Cuckoo lifting pin wheel.
W—Cuckoo count wheel.
X—Cuckoo bellows lifting lever.
Y—Cuckoo hammer.
Z—Cuckoo bird stick; also called bird holder.
S¹—Cuckoo bird stick lever.
In examining a movement the student discovers a peculiarity of cuckoo
frames, which is that the pivot holes for several of the arbors of
the striking levers have slots filed into them, reaching to the edges
of the frames and narrower than the full diameter of the pivot holes.
This is because such arbors have levers riveted into them which must
function in front, between and at the rear of the plates and in setting
up the movement the slots are necessary to allow the end levers to pass
through the holes. Such arbors as have slots on the front plates are
inserted and placed in their proper positions before setting the train
wheels with which they function. The others are first inserted in the
back plate and turned to position while putting on that plate.
Both quail and cuckoo trains are set up very simply and surely by
observing the following points: In the quail train, when the quail
bellows lever, H, is just released from a pin in the pin wheel, O, the
locking lever, F, must just fall into the slot of the locking cam, B;
the warning pin should then be near the fly pinion and the count hook,
K, drop freely into the count wheel, A.
[Illustration: Fig. 102. Rear View of Quail and Cuckoo Movement.]
On the cuckoo side we find two levers, X; the upper one of these
operates the low note of the cuckoo call and the lower one the high
note. When this upper lever is released from a pin in the pin wheel,
the cuckoo locking lever, S, must drop into its locking cam, U, and the
count hook, T, drop into its count wheel, while the warning pin must be
near the fly pinion. After the run has stopped and the trains are fully
locked the warning pins will be as shown in Fig. 102; but at the moment
of locking they should be as described above.
The operation is as follows: Turning to Fig. 101, we find the minute
wheel, C, has four pins projecting from its rear surface. This revolves
once per hour and consequently the pins raise the lifting lever, D,
every fifteen minutes. Here is a point that frequently is productive of
trouble. The reader will readily see that if the hands of a cuckoo are
turned backward the pins in the minute wheel will bend this wire, D,
and derange the striking, as the warning lever is also attached to the
same arbor. _Never push the hands backward_ on a cuckoo clock; always
push them forward. If the striking and hands do not register the same
time, take off the weights of the striking trains; then push the hands
forward until they register the hour which the trains struck last. As
there is no power on the trains they will not be operated, the only
action being the rising and falling of the lever, D, as the pins pass.
When the hands point to the hour last struck by the trains, put on the
striking weights again and push the hands _forward_, allowing time for
each striking, until the clock has been set to the correct time.
Upon the lifting lever, D, being raised sufficiently the warning lever,
E, on the same arbor is lifted into the path of the warning pin and
at the same time unlocks the train by pressing against the lifting
pin, L, in the locking lever, F. The locking lever, F, count hook, K,
and the bird holder lever, M, are all on the same arbor and therefore
work in unison. When D drops, E releases the warning pin and the train
starts. The pin wheel has pins on both sides, the rear pins operate the
gong hammer, N, J; the front pins operate the quail bellows, I, H.
The rising, and falling of the unlocking lever, F, operates the bird
holder, G, through M and the wire in the bellows top tilts the tail
of the bird and flutters the wings. When the fourth quarter has been
struck, the pins shown in the quail count wheel, A, operate the hour
lifting lever, P, and the action of that train becomes similar to that
of the quarter train just described, with the difference that there
are two bellows levers, X, for the high and low notes of the cuckoo,
whereas there is but one for the quail.
There are several adjustments necessary to watch on these clocks. The
wires to operate the bellows from the levers X and H may be so long
that the bellows when stretched to its full capacity may not allow the
tails of X and H to clear the pins of the pin wheels and thus stop the
trains. The pins should clear safely with the bellows fully opened.
The levers M and S¹, which operate the bird holders, G and Z, may be
turned in their arbors so as to be farther from or closer to the bird
holder; this regulates the opening and closing of the doors and the
appearance of the birds; if there is too much movement the birds may
be sent so far out that they will not return, but will stay out and
stop the trains. Moving S¹ and M towards the bird holders, Z and G,
will lessen the amount of this motion and the contrary movement will
increase it.
Another important source of trouble—because generally unsuspected—is
the fly. The fly on a cuckoo train must be tight; a loose fly will
cause too rapid striking and allow the train to overrun, making wrong
striking, or in a very bad case it will not stop until run down. When
this happens turn your attention to the fly and make sure that it is
tight before doing any bending of the levers, and also see to the
position of the warning pin.
Sometimes the front of the case (which is also the dial) will warp and
cause pressure on the ends of the lever arbors and thus interfere with
their proper working. Be sure that the arbors are free at both ends.
When replacing worn pins in the striking trains, care should be taken
to get them the right length, as on account of the large amount of
end shake in these movements they may slip past the levers without
operation, if too short, or foul the other parts of the train if too
long. For the same reasons bending the levers should only be done after
exhausting the other sources of error and then be undertaken very
slowly and cautiously.
The notes of a cuckoo are A and F, just below middle C; these should
be sounded clearly and with considerable volume. If they are short and
husky in tone it may be due to holes in the bellows, too short stroke
of bellows, removal of the bellows weights, E, Fig. 103, dirt in the
orifices of the pipes, or cracks in the pipes. Holes in the bellows,
if small and not in the folds of the kid, may be mended by being glued
up with paper or kid, or a piece of court plaster which is thin enough
to not interfere with the operation of the bellows. If much worn a new
bellows should be substituted. Cracks in the pipes may be mended with
paper.
The orifice of the pipe, if dirty, may be cleaned with a piece of
mainspring filed very thin and smooth and carefully inserted, as any
widening or roughening of this slit will interfere with the tone.
Sometimes a clock comes in which has been spoiled in this regard, then
it becomes necessary to remove the outer portion or lip, A, Fig. 103,
of the slot (which is glued in position) and make a new inner lip, B,
or file the old one smooth again. The proper shape is shown in B, Fig.
103, while C and D show improper shapes which interfere with the tone.
[Illustration: Fig. 103. Cuckoo bellows and pipe. A, outer lip; B,
inner lip; C, D, incorrect forms of lip.]
Much time and money has been spent in trying to avoid the inherent
defects of this portion of the clock; sometimes the lips will swell
or warp and close the orifice; sometimes they will shrink and make
it too wide; in either case a loss of purity of tone is the result.
Brass tubes, if thin enough to be cheap, give a brassy tone to the
notes; compositions of lead, tin and antimony (organ pipe metal) are
readily cast, but give a softer, duller tone of less volume than the
wood. Celluloid lips to a wooden tube were at first thought to be a
great success, but were found to warp as they got older. Bone lips are
costly; so there is nothing at present that seems likely to displace
well seasoned wood, where discriminating lovers of music and art demand
purity and correctness of tone, reasonably accurate time, artistic
sculptural effects and durability, all in one article—a high class
cuckoo clock.
When sending a clock home after repairing, each of the chains should
be tied together with strings just outside the bottom of the case so
that they will not slip off the sprockets and the customer should be
instructed to hang the clock in its accustomed position before cutting
the strings and attaching the weights.