BEFORE you start work

No book can replace the professional clock repairer. A good clock always warrants a good repair by a competent and qualified repairer.

There are, however, many old clocks in need of attention but whose repair costs can be as much as or even more than their value. Bear in mind that when a repairer says a clock is not worth repairing, it simply indicates that when allowances have been made for the time involved and the overheads of the workshop, the repair will cost more than is worth spending. It does not mean it is beyond repair.

The professional repairer has many overheads the amateur does not, and so it is quite feasible to undertake repairs that would otherwise not be done. Not perhaps to the high standard a professional would achieve, but nevertheless to a very acceptable level.

The following pages will give you an insight into the methods used by repairers, although many have had to be modified to take into account the assumption that only the simplest hand tools are available.

Repairing Your Own Clocks by Mervyn Passmore