Anniversary (400 Day) Clock Tips:

Getting Started:

Before starting the pendulum, you will need to make sure it is positioned so it suspends freely.  Your clock will have the pendulum removed from the suspension spring and the bottom block it is hooked upon for safety while traveling.

You will need to hook the pendulum very carefully onto the pin block on the suspension spring. Attaching (or removing) the pendulum to the pin block is a delicate operation. Great care must be taken not to bend the spring at all.  

It’s best to hold the little pin block still and in position with your finger on one hand while “hooking” the pendulum on the hook with the other. Carefully let the pendulum set into the pin block until it hangs freely. When removing the pendulum from the pin block, remember that you need to raise the pendulum “hook” slightly before you can ease the pin out.  

 

Leveling Your 400 Day Clock:

The surface on which the clock rests does not have to be completely level. But the clock itself must be level. If your clock has a guide cup on the base, the clock is level when the tip of the pendulum is directly over, or inside, the guide cup. 

If it is not level, you will need to either need to put a small coin or similar underneath one side of the clock’s base.  If your clock has adjustable feet (usually 3 at the base) adjust one or more feet with your thumb to level the clock. 

 

Starting the Clock:

Carefully rotate the pendulum in either direction, so that it is about one complete turn from dead center, then release it. This will start the pendulum rotating.  At first, this will be more rotation than necessary, and the pendulum will slow its rotation. 

The normal rotation of your clock may be as little as half of a turn or as much as a turn and a half on the smaller clocks.  After a half-hour or so, your clock will have settled into its normal cycle.

Once you know how far the pendulum normally rotates in one direction, always give it just a little more than this amount whenever you have to start it in the future. But never rotate the pendulum more than one and one half turns from dead center.

If you do, a permanent twist may be left in the suspension spring which will prevent the clock from running. No clock repairman can be expected to replace a Anniversary Clocks suspension spring, free of charge, if the spring has been permanently twisted or otherwise bent.

 

Time Adjustment:

You may notice a round, “regulating disc” (about the size of a nickel) on top of the pendulum.  When this is turned, it will bring the pendulum balls go toward, or away from, the center of the Anniversary Clocks pendulum.

The direction in which the regulating disc should be turned to make the clock go faster or slower depends upon the design of the pendulum. Look for the letters F (fast) and S (slow) on the top of, or near, the regulating disc.

It is best to regulate the timing of your clock once the clock has been leveled.  Set your clock to the correct time and check it again in about a week.  Make note of any difference in time, fast or slow, at the end of the week (or sooner, if the clock is gaining or losing time rapidly).  

To adjust your clock for a gain or loss, adjust the regulating disc on the pendulum (or regulating rod on disc pendulum clocks) as described above. Make a slight adjustment at first, a half rotation of the disc will result in significant changes in the timekeeping.  Start with a ⅛ rotation at first, reset the hands to the correct time and check again in several days.