The information on this page may help you avoid costly service calls. The tips contained here address common problems faced by all clock owners.

NEVER spray your clock's movement with any type of oil or lubricant. NEVER. Although it may make your clock temporarily run again, it will eventually stop your clock and may cause significant damage or permanently ruin the movement.

If your clock stops, NEVER add heavier weights to make it run again. This practice will eventually ruin your clock.

The most common reason for your clock to stop running, besides not being wound or it being too dirty, is caused by not being level, especially wall clocks, like cuckoos or regulators. Wall clocks tend to move if not sufficiently anchored.

Avoid hanging wall clocks on walls that receive vibrations, like under stair steps or those located near doors.

How to move or transport your mantel clock. You must take special care moving clocks that have a pendulum. This is a downloadable Adobe PDF file. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, you can get Adobe Acrobat Reader for free here.

How to properly setup and wind your clock. This is a downloadable Adobe PDF file. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, you can get Adobe Acrobat Reader for free here.

If your clock's chimes or strikes are no longer synchronized with the time, this problem can easily be fixed by resetting or moving the position of the clock's hands while they ARE NOT attached to the clock. Simply remove the clock's hands from their arbor, and reposition them to match the clock's strike or chime. This simple repair will not work if your clock is chiming erratically. For example, the clock strikes 6, then 9, then 1, then 5. This is erratic behavior and can only be fixed by a service technician or a clockmaker. However, you can use this technique to remedy a clock that strikes and chimes in the proper order but is no longer synchronized with the clock's time. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO QUICKLY MOVE THE CLOCK'S HANDS WHILE ATTACHED TO THE DIAL IN A FUTILE ATTEMPT TO RESYNCHRONIZE THE CLOCK. This may result in serious damage and require costly repair. Remember to replace all nuts, attachments and washers in their proper order when replacing the clock's hands, being careful to note the direction of any curvature of the washers. This order of parts is usually necessary for the hands to work properly. Do not attempt this repair if you are challenged by handling extremely small parts; it is easier to call for service before bungling the job.

Raising your clock's pendulum will make the clock run faster. Lowering the pendulum makes the clock run slower. Only small adjustments should be made to the height of the pendulum to obtain results. You have to learn how many seconds change result from one full rotation of the pendulum's rating nut (the nut that raises and lowers the pendulum). Some clocks can be adjusted from the dial. Follow the directional indicator on the dial to speed up or slow down your clock. Only make adjustments to your clock's time at the end of a winding cycle. Antique clocks do not run uniformly throughout their winding cycle, which could be 1 day, 8 days, or 31 days.