Grandfather Clocks

Otherwise known as a Longcase clock, the Grandfather clock represents family and tradition. An old solid mahogany Grandfather clock draws attention from even the most novice clock collector. Usually, an antique longcase clock has a weight driven pendulum clock, located in the tower, or waist, and is commonly six to 8 ft tall. In order to delineate size, collectors sometimes nickname a longcase clock a granddaughter (under 5 feet), a grandmother (over 5 feet) and over six ft, a grandfather.

If you have the space for a Grandfather clock, buy one. They're beautiful, stunning and a great conversation piece. Typically, an antique grandfather clock isn't cheap, but you may beable to find one on eBay that fits any budget. It might be an investment piece, however, but remember, longcase clocks are collectibles. It`s worth it.

The 'grandfather' or 'longcase' clock (hereafter I will use the terms interchangeably) owes its birth to the advent of the anchor escapement mechanism which was invented in 1670. Previous pendulum clocks utilized the verge escapement mechanism. Verge escapement mechanisms required either a very large case or a very short pendulum in order to accommodate their extremely wide swing range. With anchor escapement, the swing was drastically reduced and makers could use a much longer pendulum with slower beats. The longer pendulums required less power to stay in motion, and created much less damaging friction. They were also far more accurate. Most grandfather clocks utilize a `seconds' (Royal) pendulum which takes 1 second per swing. Seconds pendulums are approximately 39 inches long. The longcase is the result of the need for greater height to accommodate longer pendulum and long drop space for the weights which give the clock its power. Today`s grandfather clocks have been modified a bit, and now use the more precise deadbeat escapement mechanism.

Most grandfather clocks were fitted with one of 2 varieties of movements: an 8 day or a 1 day. Clocks using an 8 day movement only needed to be wound weekly, the cheaper 30 hour clocks with the 1 day movement required daily winding. Eight day clocks usually are driven with 2 weights. One weight drives the pendulum, and the other weight drives the striking mechanism which consists of a bell and or chimes. These movements normally have 2 keyholes on each side of the dial to allow for winding each one. 30 hour clocks though, have a single weight to drive both the striking and the timekeeping mechanisms. There were certain 30 hour clocks which were produced with false keyholes to create the appearance of an 8 day clock. This was to make visitors to a home believe that the host was wealthy enough to afford the more expensive 8 day variety. Contemporary grandfather clocks almost always contain eight-day movements. The majority of longcase clocks are cable-driven which suspends the weights from cables. The cable cannot be attached directly to the weight or the rotation would cause an unbraiding of the cable strands. To prevent this, the cable is wrapped around a pulley which is mounted on the top of each weight. This method also creates a mechanical advantage which doubles the running time of a single weight drop.

The way to wind a cable clock is to insert a crank or key into special holes on the clock face and turn the key. Other grandfather clocks are chain-driven, which means that the weights are suspended by chains wrapped around gears in the mechanism, and the other end of the chain hangs down next to the weight. Chain-driven longcases are wound by pulling on the end of each chain and lifting the weights until they come up to right below the clock face.

In the early 1900`s, quarter-hour chime sequences were added to grandfather clocks. On the hour, the full chime sequence is sounded and then followed by the hour strike. Every quarter hour, the ¼ chime sequence plays, the end of every hour ½ of the chime sequence plays, and at a quarter to the hour ¾ of the chime sequence is sounded. Most modern grandfather clocks are equipped with a choice of chime sequences which may include Westminster Quarters, Whittington chimes, and St. Michael`s chimes. The owner can choose the sequence they desire by flipping a switch affixed to the right side of the dial. The addition of chime sequences requires contemporary longcase clocks to contain 3 weights rather than 2. The weight on the left powers the hour strike, the middle weight powers the pendulum and timekeeping, and the right weight powers the ¼ hour chime sequences.