Hi Sputnik- Your stopping issue may not be escapement related. Everything about the movement needs to be considered when troubleshooting power issues. Make sure the movement doesn't have significant wear and is well lubricated. And yes, the escapement does need to be properly adjusted 🙂. But, if your movement is running for several hours before stopping, the problem might not be the escapement.

It can be seen here... www.abouttime-clockmaking.com/downloads.shtml or on the full-length DVD. Unfortunately, this 3.5 minute segment can't show everything :-).

Hi Bev- Half-deadbeat escapements do indeed have some recoil and could instead be called "half-recoil" escapements :-). They have a combination of recoil and deadbeat characteristics which make them neither deadbeat nor recoil. American clock companies developed this strap anchor style as an inexpensive deadbeat, not caring that the exit pallet wasn't radial and exhibited some recoil. You are obviously advanced in your escapement knowledge and realize that reshaping the exit pallet would make this escapement a true deadbeat. However, this isn't what the manufacturer had in mind and the effort to eliminate the recoil would exceed the benefit (in my opinion). In other words, a half-deadbeat strap pallet escapement which has recoil isn't problematic. Thanks for your comments!

@@clockclass5480 Many thanks for your reply! Yes, I have seen the term used before and was not doubting your info for one moment! It`s just that I wondered why a half factor would be used. Was it perhaps that a full dead-beat could be a little more noisy - especially on a movement made to a price in various aspects?

@@darkgreenambulance A deadbeat wouldn't necessarily be noisier but it would take more time to properly shape the pallets. More time means more expense and the clock market has almost always been driven by "faster/cheaper", even at the expense of accuracy. American clock companies mass produced clocks with the half-deadbeat escapement in the early 1910s when society became more dependent on knowing what time it was. America was industrializing (and at war!) and needed to know what time it was in order to catch their train, get to work on time, and know when to quit for the day. The clock market became very competitive and companies which could turn out clocks faster and less expensive than their competition had the best chance of not going bankrupt. So, I don't believe the half-deadbeat strap pallet escapement is anything other than an attempt at deadbeat accuracy on a shoe-string budget.

Knocking sounds as you describe are more than likely the pendulum hitting something as it swings. The pendulum tries to reach its normal amplitude but then hits the side of the case, or other obstruction, before it reaches its maximum excursion. This dampens the pendulum action, reducing the swing, and the sound goes back to normal. There are several solutions to this issue... -Make sure the case is level and the clock is in beat. If the clock isn't level, the pendulum will come closer to one side of the case than the other and could strike the side of the case. -If the pendulum hits both sides, the escapement will need adjusting so there is more exit and entrance drop. This will reduce the amount of swing of the pendulum by reducing the lock. -See if the obstruction can be moved. I've seen gong standards improperly positioned and interfering with the swing of the pendulum. Hope that helps!

@@clockclass5480 yea, thats what i thought at first, but if i reduce the swing by hand, it doesn't get any better, so i assumed it was escape mechanism because i cant find where the pendulum is hitting anything.

@@kwacz Ok! This is all part of the troubleshooting process. Look for the easy stuff first 🙂. Since your pendulum isn't hitting anything, it could be your escape wheel has damaged teeth or is out-of-round. This would cause the pallets to lightly catch an escape wheel tooth rather than fully releasing it and cause the knocking sound. This would generally stop the clock. One way to tell if it is the escape wheel is to count the ticks. If you consistently get 7 knocking sounds, for example, followed by 31 normal ticks, it is the EW that's the problem. Here is an article which discusses escape wheel problems... abouttime-clockmaking.com/pdfs/escape_wheel_problems.pdf

Hi Paddy Pup- Bending the anchor adjusts the entrance drop and moving the stud adjusts the exit drop. So no, you can't really bend the anchor slightly to adjust the exit drop :-). Great question!

@@clockclass5480 thanks for reply. This question is actually related to the verge on a cuckoo clock that doesn’t have a stud that’s why I wondered.

@@paddypup1836 There actually is a stud, sort of, on a cuckoo. It is a finger which is part of the plate and can be bent upwards or downwards. However, repeated bending will cause it to break so try to get it right the first time :-).

@@clockclass5480 oh thanks.

@@clockclass5480 so it’s on the brass plate? The anchor on the cuckoo is welded to the pivot bar for use of a better term.

Here is a link to an article covering the repair of the alarm on American mantel clocks... abouttime-clockmaking.com/pdfs/alarms_of_american_mantel_clocks_labounty.pdf