I was given a grandfather clock. The face says Waltham at the bottom ans Tempest Fugit at the top, there are no serial numbers that I can find so I have no idea what year or model it is. I think the previous owner must have overwound it, because when you place the key in to wind it you cant even turn it. Is there some way that I can fix this problem myself, so that its affordable?
If you have the patience, you could try the following.
Set the pendulum in motion - this will slowly wind down the mainspring. The clock will probably stop after a few seconds. Set the pendulum swinging again as necessary, and if you're lucky the period that it ticks for will increase each time.
You will need to be patient and persevere - what you are doing is very gently releasing the tension on the mainspring.
This is not guaranteed to resolve the problem, but it won't harm the clock or your bank balance to try. Failing that, there is a mechanical fault that is causing it not to wind and you are strongly advised to place it in the hands of a reputable and competent clock repairer.
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I'm not positive about this, but I seem to recall that these type of clocks have two "silence levers" on the movement. These levers are located at the upper left and upper right corners of the movement as you face the movement from the back. The movement back panel has to be removed if it has one.
If the levers are pushed toward the chime rods, they will silence the hour or musical chime, depending on which one it is. I believe the silence levers are supposed to be moved away from the chime rods so the rods can retract and then strike the chime bars.
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If you go to the web site "www.antique-pocket-watch.com/waltham-pocket-watch.html", you will find information about Waltham watches and if you read the serial number off the movement (open the back and read it off the back plate), you may be able to find out the year of manufacture.
Testimonial: "thank you, your information helped me identify the year and information needed"
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Hi,
By your description the spring is already wound up tight and what happens is that friction is keeping the clock from unwinding and starting of its own accord.
The solution is to manually use your hand to move the pendulum back and forth for a while. It may take a few minutes, but this will force the spring to gradually unwind and kickstarts the mechanism.
Eventually after a few minutes the friction will release, and the clock should begin to work on its own.
To test this after a few minutes - once you have the pendulum started, let it go and it should continue to tick of its own accord.
Thanks for using FixYa. Please do leave a vote for the solution.
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1965 theres a full breitling serial number list at http://www.brittons-watches.co.uk/watches_breitling_dates.htm
SOURCE: Watch will not wind. Wound
The best solution is to lightly tap on the watch, this will keep it running until the spring is unwound enough to run on it's own.
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