[Shop-talk] Grandfather clock.

[Mark Andy]

Howdy,

On Sat, 11 Jul 2009, Mr. Bill wrote:
> I recently inherited a 7' grandfather clock and moved it from safe 
> country down to earthquake prone So. Cal.  The three weights are ~ 12 
> #'s each so it is extremely top-heavy when "wound" and they are at the 
> top.  I know it needs to be attached to the wall but am not sure how. 
> Should I use a L bracket and mount it solidly or maybe use a cable so it 
> has a little movement?  Spring?

I can't think of any reason why a solid mount wouldn't be fine... It may 
possibly transmit sound more to the wall when the chimes ring, but 
shouldn't matter otherwise.

> Second question:  When the front door is opened, it has an extremely
> acrid musty odor.  Baking soda seems to do nothing.  I hesitate to use
> anything with its own smell for fear of impregnating (Now, now, no puns
> please!) the beautiful Pennsylvania Cedar.  Any ideas?

No clue on this one, unfortunately.

I'll echo the previous poster about paying a pro to come clean/lube the 
clock... In our case it was so dirty and worn (20 year old clock, probably 
never cleaned / serviced in that entire time) that the whole movement/ 
guts needed to be replaced.  None of what he did in terms of cleaning or 
replacing stuff was particularly hard, but it did look like a little 
experience went a long way.

Mark