Sestrel clock repair needed

DoubleEnder

DoubleEnder

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A good friend and neighbour died recently. His widow gave me a clock, that he’d bought probably 30 or 40 years ago. It’s got a 4 inch dial, marked Sestrel, a round brass case, and is clockwork. There are two winders. One winds the clock which runs for a week when fully found. The other winds the chiming mechanism. The chimes are interesting: they chime according to the old system of watch bells. So, at 12 they ring eight times. At 1230 it is once, at 1300 twice, at 1330 three bells… all the way to eight bells at 1600 when the sequence starts again.

But it’s stopped chiming.
A local clock repairer said it was too complicated for him. So does anyone have any suggestions ? It’s quite an unusual clock I think, and I’m fond of it, but don’t want to spend a fortune….

thank you.
 
Many years ago, I spotted a mantel piece clock with pendulum and chimes in a second - hand shop. I bought and restored it but after a while, the chimes and the loud tick became annoying in the house - both to me and others - so I stopped winding it. It still stands on the mantel piece, though. It occurs to me that Sestrel might have thought of this and there is a subtle method of disabling the chimes. Another possibility is that some of the mechanism has been removed to achieve the same. Have you had a look inside?
 
I know a bit about this, but nothing useful.

I have not one but two ships bell striking clocks - one a WW2 Chelsea off a T2 tanker - black Bakelite with a six inch dial - and the other is the Wempe one that my brother bought me when I bought “Mirelle » in 1984 because the outgoing owners, Francis and Grace Manfield, wanted to keep the clock and barometer, but her present owner, James Evans, was given the original set by the descendants of Francis and Grace, so James very kindly returned my set to me.

NEITHER clock chimes correctly! And they have been with a repairer who incidentally sails for a couple of years now.
 
neil_s said:
Many years ago, I spotted a mantel piece clock with pendulum and chimes in a second - hand shop. I bought and restored it but after a while, the chimes and the loud tick became annoying in the house - both to me and others - so I stopped winding it. It still stands on the mantel piece, though. It occurs to me that Sestrel might have thought of this and there is a subtle method of disabling the chimes. Another possibility is that some of the mechanism has been removed to achieve the same. Have you had a look inside?
Click to expand...
I am not going to attempt anything myself…..and the clock was chiming, correctly, until a few weeks ago so all the bits are present. I haven’t turned the chimes off. They just stopped.
 
Cleaning and lubrication are probably all that is required. Cleaning ideally requires stripping the movement down, cleaning each part and then rebuilding it. Lubrication is less simple than it sounds. You MUST use clock oil, and you MUST use the merest trace. The wrong oil will dry and stop the movement; too much will attract dust that will cause excessive wear.

Clocks such as this basically have two parallel mechanisms, the going train and the striking train. Before dismantling the clock, the driving spring for both trains must be let down fully.

What you have is probably quite valuable, and almost a collector's item. I'd see if you can find a reputable clock restorer.
 
gdallas said:
A good friend and neighbour died recently. His widow gave me a clock, that he’d bought probably 30 or 40 years ago. It’s got a 4 inch dial, marked Sestrel, a round brass case, and is clockwork. There are two winders. One winds the clock which runs for a week when fully found. The other winds the chiming mechanism. The chimes are interesting: they chime according to the old system of watch bells. So, at 12 they ring eight times. At 1230 it is once, at 1300 twice, at 1330 three bells… all the way to eight bells at 1600 when the sequence starts again.

But it’s stopped chiming.
A local clock repairer said it was too complicated for him. So does anyone have any suggestions ? It’s quite an unusual clock I think, and I’m fond of it, but don’t want to spend a fortune….

thank you.
Click to expand...

@gdallas - don't know where in the Northern Hemisphere you actually are but if the UK I would contact Michael Swift in Rothesay.

Clock Repair Specialist - Michael Swift Horologist

Have a look at the website at what he is capable of.

Highly recommended.
 
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