Any Grandfather clock fans out there?

[DriveHard]

I have loved them since I was a kid...but they have always been a bit of an "extravagant purchase" when I look at prices. I fell in love with one we had at our fraternity in college - it had moon phases, three chimes, beautiful movement, just amazing!

Anyways, I found this beauty on Facebook market place for $75...yup, you read that right...$75. I grabbed a friend, and went to pick it up instantly. While I do love these clocks, I have no idea what I got. It keeps time, and only has one chime, but wow, is it big and the case is in wonderful condition.

Did I score? Do I need to join a forum to learn about upkeep, or do I just put it back together and keep it running? The lady who helped me pack it up knew a lot about it, and how to properly pack it for moving.

Edit to add...this is my home office with 8' ceilings. It sits about 5 feet to my right, and I am excited to hear it chime when I get it re-assembled.

 

[GON]

DH,

Congrats on your purchase! I would love a grandfather clock- my Wife doesn't want one- and she wins.....

Will be watching the responses to your thread- thanks for starting it.

 

[Reggaemon]

You have way more than $75 in happiness there.

 

[Leo99]

Very cool. For $75 you have a nice project on your hands and I'm sure you'll learn a lot.

 

[MRC01]

Years ago, my dad built one for me. It has a Hermle movement. These clocks can be incredibly accurate. The length of the pendulum adjusts the speed (lower is slower), and it has a screw on the bottom to make fine adjustments. You can typically get them within a couple seconds a week. That's better than most quartz watches.

 

[JHZR2]

My grandfather loved making them. I think he made one for each of his kids, niece/nephew, and grandkids.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

DriveHard congrats on your purchase. My wife is like GONs......she doesnt sleep well and doesnt like chiming clocks. I have several wall Regulator clocks, but i dont wind the chime side.....again due to my wife. Try to locate a clocksmith near you. You are going to need to have it cleaned and oiled every 3 - 4 years. This is a disappearing occupation and skill set.

 

[Duffyjr]

Googling that company it looks like you did ok for $75.

I remember my grandparents had one and that thing was loud and went off every 15 minutes and on the hour. Midnight and noon could be quite annoying.

 

[ecotourist]

We have an old one. Primarily based on the face we always thought it had been made in the 1850s. But a clock and furniture expert said we were wrong. It had only been built "updated" in the 1850s, but the case was built about 1775.

 

[mccandish]

That's a nice clock - I hope you can get it running well! I'll bet YouTube has plenty of videos on maintenance and upkeep.

My grandmother purchased one new in 1971. She lived way out in the country and bought it from a furniture store roughly an hour away. Whenever I visited, sometimes the clock would be working, sometimes not. I never really took much of an interest in it and always thought she had stopped the clock to keep it from chiming while visitors were there. I doubt I ever saw the clock working past the 1970's.

When Grandma passed away the clock went to my mother. I was in charge of breaking it down, transporting it, and reassembling it at Mom's house. Doing some reading on the subject, I found rule number one of pendulum clocks - level, level, level. Of course, Grandma's clock had been sitting on carpet the entire time - someone had shoved a board under it to try to keep it level, but it would eventually sink this way or that until the clock beat would slow down and stop. Poor Grandma.

I moved it to Mom's house and set it up on a hard surface floor where it ran beautifully (poor Grandma!). Eventually, the original movement wore enough that it wouldn't keep time well, so I purchased a drop-in replacement movement, and it ran well for years.

When Mom passed away, the clock became mine. Like others here, my wife is a light sleeper and wouldn't care much for the chiming, so it sits in the entry hall as a nice piece of furniture.

 

[Aredeeem]

My Mom bought us one. A not fancy Ridgeway back in 1995. Clock has run non stop and flawlessly for 27 years. You can silence it at night if it disturbs your sleep. We really like it.

 

[DriveHard]

My Mom bought us one. A not fancy Ridgeway back in 1995. Clock has run non stop and flawlessly for 27 years. You can silence it at night if it disturbs your sleep. We really like it.

Awesome!

It will be on the opposite end of the house from where everybody sleeps...so we should be ok with the chimes.

 

[Leo99]

That's a nice clock - I hope you can get it running well! I'll bet YouTube has plenty of videos on maintenance and upkeep.

My grandmother purchased one new in 1971. She lived way out in the country and bought it from a furniture store roughly an hour away. Whenever I visited, sometimes the clock would be working, sometimes not. I never really took much of an interest in it and always thought she had stopped the clock to keep it from chiming while visitors were there. I doubt I ever saw the clock working past the 1970's.

When Grandma passed away the clock went to my mother. I was in charge of breaking it down, transporting it, and reassembling it at Mom's house. Doing some reading on the subject, I found rule number one of pendulum clocks - level, level, level. Of course, Grandma's clock had been sitting on carpet the entire time - someone had shoved a board under it to try to keep it level, but it would eventually sink this way or that until the clock beat would slow down and stop. Poor Grandma.

I moved it to Mom's house and set it up on a hard surface floor where it ran beautifully (poor Grandma!). Eventually, the original movement wore enough that it wouldn't keep time well, so I purchased a drop-in replacement movement, and it ran well for years.

When Mom passed away, the clock became mine. Like others here, my wife is a light sleeper and wouldn't care much for the chiming, so it sits in the entry hall as a nice piece of furniture.

My in-laws have a cuckoo clock. I was over their house when the bird in the clock did its thing. I asked them if it bothered them at night when they were sleeping. They both looked at me very confused and asked if what bothers them. I said the clock. They said what clock? Even my wife took their side and asked me what I was on about. Then they realized that they no longer heard the clock after decades of having it.

 

[alarmguy]

Call me crazy but I think you got one heck of a deal there.
In my mind at first glance, a quick online search you might be looking at least 10 times what you paid for it in value.
I’ve always loved those clocks, just a couple years ago I got my wife a true German engineered cuckoo clock with certain moving features.
Love pendulum clocks of all kinds mechanical

 

[vavavroom]

There's a cuckoo clock in a box in the basement When my son was 11 he decided to take out the cuckoo with his Daisy. When I asked him why he had done that he said "It was the right time." Like father, like son.

 

[vavavroom]

They say never get into watch collecting because it's a horrible addiction. The same can probably be said for clock collecting. Only it's worse because you need more room.

 

[DriveHard]

My in-laws have a cuckoo clock. I was over their house when the bird in the clock did its thing. I asked them if it bothered them at night when they were sleeping. They both looked at me very confused and asked if what bothers them. I said the clock. They said what clock? Even my wife took their side and asked me what I was on about. Then they realized that they no longer heard the clock after decades of having it.

In our main living area we have a jewel clock that plays songs on the hour. We don't hear it at all, except when the season change...it has four different groups of 6 songs it plays to go with the seasons, so when my bride switches it I will hear it again for a few days, then it is background noise again.

 

[Vercingetorix]

DH,

Congrats on your purchase! I would love a grandfather clock- my Wife doesn't want one- and she wins.....

Will be watching the responses to your thread- thanks for starting it.

You need an Atmos.

 

[Aredeeem]

My in-laws have a cuckoo clock. I was over their house when the bird in the clock did its thing. I asked them if it bothered them at night when they were sleeping. They both looked at me very confused and asked if what bothers them. I said the clock. They said what clock? Even my wife took their side and asked me what I was on about. Then they realized that they no longer heard the clock after decades of having it.

Yes. I understand that. You hear the chimes/cuckoo during the night but it’s not enough to wake you up completely. There’s nothing better to be half asleep in the pre dawn hours and hear that clock chime. You wait to hear how many times it chimes. If , for instance, you have to get up at 6am you find yourself counting the chimes. When it stops at 4 you’re so relieved. Best two additional hours of sleep you’ll ever have.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

I bought a 1980s Howard Miller grandfather clock from a friend about a decade ago. It looks very similar to yours. I loved it and it still works ok, but needs some adjustments and hasn’t been used in a few years. It’s just been collecting dust in the corner of a spare room. Maybe I should fix it up.