Clock repairs
Most clocks stop working because they need cleaning. The old oil becomes stiffer as it dries out, causing drag on the moving parts, which saps the power of the mainspring or weight. Cleaning out all the old oil and adding some fresh oil works wonders. But sometimes parts fail through normal wear or because they have been repaired badly in the past. The skill is as much in identifying the cause of failure as it is in making new parts. In this photo of a clock barrel, you can see that about ten teeth have been bent over. It was caused by a bent arbor on the second wheel which limited contact to the point that only the tips were engaging. All the old teeth needed to be turned down on a lathe and a newly cut tooth band was fitted. Repairs aren't always this complex but they are time-consuming so a trader will have to pay a working wage to his repairer to cover the time spent. I don't repair clocks for a living; I do it in my spare time so it works out much cheaper. I have repaired some clocks for under £20 (I have even been known to explain how the owner can do it himself for free over the phone or by a series of emails!). So don't assume that a repair will always be too expensive. My aim is to keep heirlooms running, economically, so you can hand them on to the next generation.