'Winding - up' is performed with a key on spring wound
clocks, including wall dials, mantel and bracket clocks. Eight-day
longcase clocks also require winding- up of the two weights. Thirty-hour
longcase clocks need particular attention requiring a chain or
rope to be pulled each day.
With the typical example of the French clock
as illustrated above, winding should present no particular problem.
The correct sized key fits onto the winding square and the key
is then turned clockwise ( the same as a screw tightens
into a piece of wood). There are some exceptions to this with
some chiming clocks, some American clocks and Fusee Wall clocks
winding anticlockwise.
As a rule, viewed from the front, the winding square on the left of the dial winds the strike, while that on the right winds the hands
While it is possible to omit winding the strike side of a clock to silence the gong or bell on the hour, this may cause some French clocks to stop when the hands arrive at 12.40 (Rack- striking clocks only). It is therefore best to wind both squares equally to avoid this.
Remember to use only the key that belongs to a particular clock, one that is a perfect fit for both winding squares.
Copyright © 1997 IAN PARTRIDGE ( Revised May 2009)