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Setting Up Your 30 Hour Longcase Clock
Written by Christopher Jenkins MBHI
Place the movement on the seatboard in the clock case & hook the weight onto the pulley; this will hold the movement in place whilst it is aligned with the hood. Fit the hood in place & move the movement left, right, backwards, forwards until it is correctly aligned within the hood mask.
Remove the hood & attach the pendulum. The pendulum is fed up through the case, through the pendulum crutch & held from the top of the suspension spring, which is fed through the slot in the backcock. Ensure that the brass block below the suspension spring hangs as in the diagram i.e. approx. in the centre of the crutch. If it does not the crutch arm can be bent towards or away from the movement. Give the pendulum a push to start it swinging & the clock should start with a steady, even tick.
Most 30-hour clocks have a strike control mechanism known as a countwheel. This large wheel is mounted on the back of the movement & turns as the clock is striking. A detent can be seen resting on the edge of the wheel & when the detent reaches a cutout in the wheel it drops in & causes the striking to stop. If the number of blows struck is different to the hour shown lift the detent & the clock will strike one more than the previous count; repeat this operation until the blows struck is correct.
To set the clock to time turn the minute (long) hand clockwise only stopping at each hour until striking as ceased before turning to the next hour. Do not turn the hand anti-clockwise.
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Setting Up Your 30 Hour Longcase Clock
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