Adventures in the world of a mechanically minded dork! So, about 20 years ago, I inherited a grandfather clock from my dad. He’s not dead or anything - he just gave it to me because he knew how much I loved it. The problem was, it didn’t work. (Photo of the same clock, just not mine) - ThreadSky

maegodhavemercy.com • 17 days ago

Adventures in the world of a mechanically minded dork!

So, about 20 years ago, I inherited a grandfather clock from my dad. He’s not dead or anything - he just gave it to me because he knew how much I loved it.

The problem was, it didn’t work. (Photo of the same clock, just not mine)

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maegodhavemercy.com•17 days ago

I kept it in the house for years just as a decoration, because I didn’t have the money to fix it or anything. Then, about 10 years ago, I got a BUG IN MY ASS and I decided “fuck it”, pulled out the movement, and over the course of an hour, deduced how every single piece of it operated.

maegodhavemercy.com•17 days ago

I set it on out table, opened up the leaf so I could hang the weights off of it, and just ANALYZED the fucking thing while it ran. I wasn’t able to immediately figure out why the pendulum would eventually stop, but I did repair a problem with the chime due to a worn-out piece.

maegodhavemercy.com•17 days ago

After putting it all back together, I spotted the culprit: THIS little fucker. This is the suspension spring, a little piece of metal that give the pendulum back-force so that it doesn’t lose momentum, and which gives the verge the extra oomph it needs to keep it swinging.

sarxory.bsky.social•23 hours ago

I have an upright clock with this exact same issue. Need to figure out where the hell to get a new part.

maegodhavemercy.com•23 hours ago

There are a lot of clock parts stores online, but I got this from Amazon.

maegodhavemercy.com•17 days ago

I got a replacement for $10 from a clock shop in town, and it worked! The clock was back in business, chiming away and keeping EXCELLENT time (well, after I fucked with the pendulum weight for days trying to dial it in)

And then… the most destructive force known to man was born: Parker.

maegodhavemercy.com•17 days ago

About 3 years ago, when he was 2 (right around the time this picture was taken), he got into the clock when I wasn’t paying attention and just kinda WRECKED it. Wrenched the pendulum around, and it stopped working again after that. I took the pendulum out to wait until he was older.

maegodhavemercy.com•17 days ago

Tonight, I decided “hey, he’s five. He understands stuff kinda. Let’s give it a go again”, and put it back together, completely forgetting about the suspension spring replacement from a decade ago.

Turns out, hey! He broke it again!

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