How to Replace the Weight Chain on a Cuckoo Clock
Cuckoo clocks are popular mechanical timepieces. A small cuckoo emerges from the clock to call the hours. Cuckoo clocks are powered by a system of weights. Each weight hangs from a chain that passes over a wheel inside the clock. As the weight falls, it pulls down on the chain, thus advancing the wheel. The wheel, in turn, moves the gears that operate the clock. Broken cuckoo clock chains must be replaced.
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Instructions
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Open the back of the cuckoo clock. Lift the broken chain off the teeth of the sprocket wheel. Pull the pieces of chain down through the holes at the base of the clock case.
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Select a new cuckoo clock chain to replace the broken one. The new chain must match the movement of your cuckoo clock. Cuckoo clocks use two kinds of movements. If the clock is wound once a day, it has a one-day movement. If the cuckoo clock is wound only once every eight days, it has an eight-day movement.
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Purchase a new cuckoo clock chain from cuckoo clock parts suppliers, such as the Frankenmuth Clock Company or Black Forest Imports (see Resources list). Chains for both kinds of movements are 6 feet long. Chains for one-day movements have approximately 48 links per foot, while those for eight-day movements have about 60 links per foot.
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Thread the new cuckoo clock chain through the hole at the bottom of the clock case. Pass the end of the chain over the teeth of the sprocket wheel, and back down through the adjacent hole at the bottom of the cuckoo clock case.
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Turn the cuckoo clock over, and grasp both ends of the new chain. Pull gently, but firmly, on the cuckoo clock chain. The chain should pull snugly into place on the teeth of the sprocket wheel. If the chain has not locked into place, adjust it slightly and pull again. Keep trying until the new cuckoo clock chain is snug on the teeth of the sprocket wheel.
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Turn the cuckoo clock right-side up. Put the back cover back onto the clock case. Hang the clock back on the wall. Pull down on the new cuckoo clock chain. The chain should move smoothly, and make an even clicking sound.
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Tips & Warnings
Hang the weight on the new cuckoo clock chain by attaching the loop at the top of the weight to the hook at the bottom of the chain.
Once the clock is back on the wall, make sure the cuckoo clock chain can move freely. The weight must not be hitting the wall, nor the chain be interfering with any of the other chains.
