GUILMET NOVELTY CLOCK WITH HELMSMAN AUTOMATON

This French novelty clock arrived in the workshop unable to function due to the compound pendulum, on which the helmsman is seated, being unbalanced. This was causing the automaton casting to knock on the deck of the boat, preventing the pendulum from swinging freely. This was addressed by cold-forming the pendulum rod in order to ensure it hung vertically and centred.

Other issues were discovered when the clock movement was disassembled for cleaning. One of the pivots on the pinwheel fell out upon disassembly, indicating it had previously been repivoted, but the new pivot was not a correct fit. A new pivot was turned and friction-fitted in place. The gathering wheel had a lot of excess solder on it and was running out of true - suggesting it may have been moved in the past. Upon trying to remove the collet from the arbor in order to correct the issue, it was discovered that a significant proportion of the wheel-end of the arbor, including the pivot, was soft as a result of excess heating in the past. Unfortunately, due to this softness, the arbor and pivot were damaged during removal of the wheel. The arbor was too soft to pean back into shape, so it was cut off 5.6mm away from the pinion, a shank turned on it, and a sleeve made from blued pivot steel soft-soldered onto it. The sleeve was then turned down to replace the removed part of the arbor, and a new collet was made to recollet the wheel.