A builder needed help adjusting the flags of the Wee Willie clock. He sent the above picture and question to Clayton and here is Clayton's response:
Thanks for sending the
picture, Frank. Helps a lot.
It looks like you
simply need, in one of the ways listed below, to alter the distance between the
pins and your flags by a tiny bit.
You want just
enough clearance from the time the one pin leaves the flag to the
moment that its opposing pin contacts the other flag. Apparently you
can't get that clearance with the way the pins are set into the escape wheel
(crown wheel), or because the center wheel arbor pivot hole is too far back, or
because the crown wheel is too far forward, or because the flags are just a
hair too long.
Here are some options
to try;
1) The simplest route,
if you have the room, it to simply move the center arbor forward a bit.
That will relocate the verge pivot hole so that you may have room to allow the
flags more freedom. You'll need to slightly adjust the loop up at
the top, too.
2) You can measure the
distance from the end of the escape pin to the end of the flag, divide by two
and shorten each flag at the sander.
3) Instead of
shortening the flags you could opt to push the escape pins into the
escape wheel just a hair, but if your pins already all at the same height it
would probably be the best course to simply shorten the flags.
4) You could also
simply bend the existing flags into a bowed, or "C" shape. One
flag bowed one way and the other bowed the other. Bending them in such a
manner would shorten them but still allow you to avoid sanding to shorten the
straight flags you have right now.
So there are four
possibilities. Personally, I think I'd first move the arbor forward and
if that didn't work, try bowing the flags. By bending them out, and then
back in again you automatically shorten them so that the escape pins can be
alternatively released and caught.
One of those options should get
your Wee Willie swinging happily.
Keep me
posted.
Enjoy!
