How To Repair Clock Gong Rod

• #2

I had a Westminster Revere Electrical with one broken rod

So I've been in that situation and tried to repair. A waist of time.

I tried to replace the i. Failure I couldn't match the tone i needed to make me happy. Music rod Steel is hard and a stronger lathe is needed than most of us accept to work the taper. Serious trial and fault time.

I ended up replacing the set. Your looking at Steel rods. That puts y'all in the Ebay or hunting mode. Or become to copper. Naw not for a ST 113. A set will turn up.

Proficient Luck

• #4

You could attempt to dial out the piece in the block, taper the rod and reinstall every bit suggested.

Most likely the pitch will exist off requiring the shortening of all other rods.

If the rod is cleaved at the mounting block. Outset, measure the original length of the cleaved rod, prepare your rod and install. Determine the amount information technology was shortened and reduce the length of all other rods by that amount.

• #six

Dave
There are a few of questions we need to know answers for.

• What is the textile of the rods (normally bell-metal, a sort of bronze only occasionally steel)
• Is the rod tapered at the mounting end?
• How is the end clamped to the block? About are but driven into a hole merely some (Junghans) take the rod flattened so it grips the pigsty in the block.

Don't practise anything until we know these answers.

• #7

It'due south certainly worth giving a repair a go if the rod is steel and of the spiral in type.
I've repaired a lot of these successfully including those in a grandfather I went to several months ago.
It had been transported without securing the rods and all bar a few were in the lesser of the instance.
After removing the screws and cleaning the area well I brazed them back together using oxy-acetylene. Despite the tapered area now having a modest bronze bulge they sounded fine to me and, more importantly, the customer.
Ive washed quite a few unmarried ones in the past as well.

As an bated I've found the easiest way to secure rods is to slide a slice of polystyrene up them, punching holes as you go. Locks them together really well.

Ralph B.

• #9

Cheers, Dave
Bell-metallic is skilful; I think that this might be the style forwards:
Obtain a longer rod of similar material and thickness from a supplier complete with tapered screw.
Drill and tap the block and screw rod in tightly.
Tune it (shorten to raise note, file taper to lower information technology)

Indeed, it won't await very pretty, but the only other recourse would be to replace the entire block or effort to drill out the cleaved end and fit a new rod in the existing manner - perhaps someone here has encountered this type of block and can give more verbal item?

HTH

• #thirteen

Mike said:

Thank you, Dave
Bell-metallic is good; I think that this might be the way forward:
Obtain a longer rod of similar textile and thickness from a supplier complete with tapered spiral.
Drill and tap the cake and spiral rod in tightly.
Melody it (shorten to raise note, file taper to lower it)

Indeed, it won't wait very pretty, but the only other recourse would be to replace the entire cake or try to drill out the broken finish and fit a new rod in the existing manner - maybe someone here has encountered this blazon of cake and can give more than verbal particular?

HTH

Right me if I am wrong, which would non be unusual, only I don't recall ever seeing Bell metal chinkle rods for auction in parts houses. My experience in replacing chinkle rods has not been good. Unless the original chime rods are steel or copper, you are kind of out of luck to try to supervene upon a unmarried Bell metal chime rod. My experience has been to replace the whole prepare. Steel and copper chinkle rods do non sound the same as Bell metal rods and often the length of the replacement steel or copper rods do not fit the space of the original Bong metallic rods for the same pitch.
Any additional help from the experts on this discipline would be appreciated.

Johnboy

• #14

Well-nigh of those we go here in UK seem to exist bong metallic, which looks like copper. Nil unusual about that every bit it is about 80% copper!

Steel ones are used in later (post-war) clocks mainly, just my experience is simply on British or High german clocks - I have never handled an American chiming clock.

I have a modern Kieninger gong block in front of me that was bought new a couple of years agone (from USA!) that is bell metal.

Some Junghans clocks employ a unlike blend that has a silver colour, and
audio totally different.

The tone of a rod ( not the pitch) is different with different metals, and different if the diameter to length ratio changes.

• #xvi

You could not spray them - anything attached to a rod or gong, apart from its stop zipper volition finish information technology from ringing; that would include paint.

The chime would just be a series of thuds! You lot might be able to record it for the local chavs with 2ft speakers in their cars.

The Kieninger rods I have here are a copper color with a slightly paler yellowish shade - nigh certainly bell-metallic.

• #18

Great Luck

I don't have to tell ya to save the old ones.

• #xix

Is it meliorate etiquette to starting time a new thread or hijack an erstwhile one with a similar question?

I have an older mantle clock with one cleaved rod and some other that looks and sounds wrong. The clock is not worth spending the $fifty I would demand for replacement chimes on ebay. I only want to go it working for my ain satisfaction. And so I am looking for a manner to install replacement chimes, either by replacing the rods in the block or by finding a different block. It does not take to await or sound original, but I would like to have information technology audio decent. Ideally I would like to find an former junker clock where the original owner didn't realize they could sell the original chimes on ebay for $50, but I am wide open to other ideas.

Suggestions?

• #21

My rods seem to be flat on the back near the base, simply the actual rods are round, and I call up I might demand to remove ii...the broken one and the longest one which appears to be copper and sounds terrible, but it might just be for hour strikes.

Would I be correct in bold that I drill or drive them back out from the chime/non-flat side? Where practice you lot find replacements of the correct bore and material that are non already attached to threaded fittings? When you say taper, do you lot hateful make it pointy so it is easier to drive back into the block, or a more than complex machining so that it looks similar a pencil with the point in the mounting block with a profile sort of like the text sketch below with the dots there just to go the notches to sort of line upward (and increasing the hazard that I will break the new i at the narrowest point when I effort to bulldoze it back in?

______ __________________
.........|/
_____|\___________________

• #23

My problem is that I cannot really see the original taper, except for the one that bankrupt off, so I tin't quite tell what it does. Is it something like this? (image from sketchup)

• #28

I should add that, unfortunately, I do not yet take a lathe, and then my options may be a little limited. If I drill and tap the block for a screw-in rod, will the audio be hideously unlike? (assuming I can tune the length to roughly the right tone). I would guess that 4 tuned rods would exist meliorate than one. Are there screw-in rods that I tin snip off the ends and drive through?

I use a long piece of steel tubing, merely a little longer than the chime rod, (Restriction line)
Slide over the rod, tap tubing through block.

TEACLOCKS I am not quite certain I understand...bulldoze out the erstwhile rod and supplant with a tube? Or is the erstwhile rod inside the tube? Practise y'all tune the length by ear?

Source: https://mb.nawcc.org/threads/can-chime-rods-be-repaired.35096/

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