How Often Should a Mechanical Clock Be Serviced?
The short answer is every five to seven years for a running clock, and immediately if it has stopped and sat unused.
Why oil is the real clock
Clock oil does not evaporate so much as it thickens and collects brass dust. That mixture works like a fine grinding paste at every pivot. A clock that still runs on 15-year-old oil is not fine — it is wearing its pivot holes into ovals, and that repair costs three to four times a routine cleaning.
Signs you are overdue
Chime that drags or trips out of sequence, a clock that needs winding sooner than it used to, a strike that hesitates, or a pendulum that stops in one particular direction all point to friction rather than a broken part.
If the clock has been stored
Never force a stored clock to run. Dried oil plus a wound mainspring is how teeth get stripped. Let it be inspected before winding.
When to call a clockmaker
If a clock has stopped, is losing more than a few minutes a week, sounds wrong when it strikes, or has been stored and not run, stop experimenting and have it inspected. Forcing a dry movement is the most expensive mistake a clock owner can make. We are at (214) 779-9792.
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