How to Choose Grandfather Clocks With Chimes

Grandfather clocks are tall pendulum clocks. The pendulum regulates the time; a series of weights provide power to the internal gears. Most grandfather clocks strike a gong, or bell, on the hour. The number of rings is equal to the time. Many also employ chimes to announce the hour, as well as the quarter, half, and three-quarter hours. The sound of the chimes is produced by either a group of rods, or hollow tubes, which hang in the clock case, near the pendulum. These are struck, in specific patterns, by small hammers. Grandfather clock chimes are available in a range of common melodies.

Things You'll Need

• Grandfather clock with chimes

Instructions

1. Look inside the clock case. This is the portion of the clock that is located directly beneath the clock face. The clock case is generally enclosed by a glass door that permits the viewer to look directly inside the case.

2. Count the number of rods, or cylinders, inside the case. Most grandfather clocks with chimes contain either 12 or 16 rods, or tubes. The tubes are hollow, and provide a different tone from the much more common rods. Rods and tubes vary in size, with each length producing a different tone.

3. Look on the clock dial. There should be a selector that shows the different chime choices. The most common melody is known as Westminster Chimes. If the clock has 12 rods, or tubes, and features a dial that says only, "chime silent," then the grandfather clock will only play Westminster Chimes.

4. Choose a grandfather clock with chimes by selecting the model that plays your favorite melodies. Westminster Chimes plays four notes on the quarter hour, eight on the half, 12, on the three-quarters, and 16 on the hour. The selector switch on a clock with Westminster Chimes will also frequently offer a choice of Whittington and St. Michael's Chimes. These melodies also employ 12 rods, or tubes.

5. Check the selector switch for more complex melodies if your grandfather clock has 16 rods, or tubes. Most clocks with 16 rods, or tubes, offer a triple chime version of the Westminster Chimes, together with Schubert's Ave Maria, and Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

Tips & Warnings

• A small number of grandfather clocks with chimes have an arrangement from five to nine tubes and hammers that offers a different selection of melodies from the traditional grandfather clock with chimes.

• Grandfather clocks with fewer than three weights do not normally have chimes. Those with two weights have only a gong, or bell, for the hour, while those with one weight make no sound at all.

References

• Grandfather Clock Chimes and Melodies
• History of Grandfather Clock Chimes
• Clock Chimes