At Time & Again,  we offer a variety of services from movement cleaning to parts replacement.   Following is a partial list of services offered.  If what you need is not listed, please contact Time & Again (link to Contact Page).
Click on the links below for a further explanation of the listed services. 

• Movement Overhauls
• Bushing Replacement
• Pivot Dressing/Replacement
  
• Gear Tooth Replacement
• Mainspring Repair/Replacement
• Escape Repair/Replacement
• Gear/Wheel Replacement
• Parts Fabrication
• Specialized Repairs
• Unconventional Clock Movement Repair
• Case Repairs
• Complete Restorations
• Custom Clockmaking
  

 

In order to assure that your clock will give you many years of faithful service, our movement overhauls are comprehensive. 

1. Upon receipt of your clock, we first bench test it to determine operability. If desired, a pre-disassembly report is made to the owner, making every effort to provide an accurate estimate of the cost of overhaul and repairs.
2. All movements are photographed and documented prior to disassembly. 
   
3. At Time & Again, we believe that "cleaning" a movement without disassembly is at best a half measure.  All* movements are completely dissassembed and ultrasonically cleaned in professional cleaning solutions. 
   
4. After cleaning and while the movement is disassembled, all parts are checked for damage and wear.   All  damaged and worn parts are repaired or replaced at reasonable additional charge.  (Most of the time, repairs are preestimated in Step 1, but until the movement is disassembled some damage and wear could go undetected).
   
5. After cleaning and repairs (if needed), all pivots and bushings are burnished.  The movement is reassembled and dry tested prior to lubrication.  The various trains are synchronized for proper operation.
6. The  movement is then lubricated with a variety of professional clock lubricants depending on the point of application. 
   
7. The movement is thoroughly bench tested through at least 2 winding cycles to assure proper operation.  At this time, the movement is also adjusted for proper timekeeping.
   
8. Finally the movement is reunited with it's case.

The most common wear points in clocks are the bushings.  These are the bearing surfaces located in the endplates within which the pivots of the various clock gears (wheels) turn.  In most cases, the endplates are made of brass while the shafts (arbors) of the gears are mild steel.  This is a reasonable arrangement since it's easier to replace bushings than pivots and/or arbors. As they wear, they either enlarge in diameter or wear from round to oval.  If wear is allowed to continue, the operation of the clock will be jeopardized.  Many times, clock repair people simply use a punch and hammer to physically close a worn bushing hole.  While this will generally work, it is unsatisfactory since this process defaces the endplates as well as thins the metal in the area of the bushings.  The only proper method (the method used by Time & Again) is to precisely drill out the old worn bushing and replace it with a commerically available or custom-made insert.  A properly replaced bushing will be nearly undetectable.

• Pivot Dressing or Replacement
  

The at both ends of the arbors, the pivots turn within the bushings.  As a clock ages, dirt and grit attracted by the lubricant enters the bearing surfaces.  If a clock was improerly lubricated without first cleaning, the fresh lubricant solubilizes the old lubricant and washes grit into the bearing.  The softer metal of the brass bushing can hold the grit while the steel pivot grinds within it.  Pivots are generally overbuilt, so as grooves are worn into them,  they can be retrued or dressed to a perfect cylinder.  This generally requires rebushing to fit the slightly smaller diameter of the pivot, but this is still less costly than pivot replacement.  Once wear of the pivot reaches a certain point, it can no longer be dressed.  This requires pivot replacement.  This process involves cutting off the old pivot and using a lathe to drill a perfectly centered hole in the end of the arbor.  A new pivot blank is than press fit in to the hole.   This new pivot is than polished to a mirror finish. 

Damage can occur to one or more teeth of the gears (wheels) that transmit energy from the weight or mainspring to the rest of the geartrain.  Most oftern this occurs when a mainspring breaks.  As long as the damage does not involve too many teeth,  the damaged or broken tooth or teeth can be removed and replaced with new.  A new piece of brass is dovetailed into the wheel and soldered.  New teeth are then filed into the replacement brass that precisely matches the toothform of the original teeth.

Mainsprings are hard workers.  They store a great deal of energy.  Unfortunately, they don't last forever.  If a mainspring is noted to be failing during overhaul, replacement springs are available for most clocks.  If a mainspring fails while the clock is in service,  the explosive release of energy can often damage other parts of the geartrain (see above).  Sometimes, a spring will fail at it's its end connection.  If the rest of the spring is still good,  the broken end can be removed and a new attachment point (hole or loop) can be fashioned. It's good practice however to simply replace a failed mainspring if it is still commercially available.

The escape wheel is the heart of the time train.  It is a specially cut gear with sharp pointy teeth that, along with the pallets, is responsible for time regulation and supplying power to keep the pendulum in motion. The Time & Again logo is actually a detailed drawing of an escape wheel and it's interacting pallets.   The escape wheel and pallets are responsible for the ticking sound of a clock.  Since the escape wheel teeth are long and thin, they are often prone to wear and misalignment.  Time & Again is equipped with the special tools to straighten and align escape wheel teeth for proper operation.  We are also equipped to make replacement escape wheels if the original is worn or damaged beyond repair.

In the event that a gear is damaged or worn beyond repair, Time & Again is equipped with the most modern machine tools to fashion a replacement on most medium to large clock movements.  This requires a lathe, vertical mill and dividing head along with the proper assortment of cutting tools to properly perform this task. Replacement gears are indistinguishable from their original counterparts. 

Most clock movements are made up of dozens of individual parts.  Time & Again is equipped to fabricate almost any type of part that is missing or broken.  Sometimes,  commercially available parts are directly applicable for replacement,  and other times, a commerically available part can be modified to fit a specific movement.  In either of these cases,  this is a less costly alternative to fabrication "from scratch".

At times, trade acceptable repairs are available that will prolong the originality of an antique clock movement.  In some cases,  worn original parts can be changed in orientation (such as gear flipping or realignment) to expose unworn portions of teeth.  This is sometimes more cost effective than wholesale replacement and also preserves the originality of the movement. 

There are hundreds of types of clocks that each require special skills in order to perform proper repairs.  Time & Again is equipped to carry out repairs on such movements.  Examples of "non-standard" movements are those containing platform (hairspring) escapements, and novelty clocks such as 400 day/Anniversary, Atmos, 120 VAC electric (e.g., Telechron), and and many others.  If you don't see your type of clock mentioned, please ask.