Cuckoo Clock Pendulum Length

Adjust

• Ensuring the accuracy of a pendulum clock is easily done by using a quartz clock or watch to set and monitor the time. Note the time the clock was set and check it against the quartz clock in 24 hours. If adjustment is needed, locate the pendulum weight, usually a carved decorative piece of wood on the pendulum such as a leaf or bird. Slide the weight about 1/8 inch downward if the clock is running three minutes fast; slide it upward if the clock is slow. A cuckoo clock is considered fairly accurate if it deviates from the correct time by no more than three minutes per day.

Replace

• Replace a cuckoo clock pendulum if it becomes cracked, broken or worn. Measure the length of the old pendulum, if you have it, and purchase another exactly the same length. Generally, a daily wound clock has a pendulum about 7 inches long, but the pendulum for a clock that is wound weekly measures 8 inches or more. Remove the pine cone weights, then take the clock down from the wall to locate the pendulum's loop. After carefully reattaching the pendulum to the loop, return the clock to the wall. Lastly, reattach the weights, and start the pendulum.

Restart

• Cuckoo clocks are wound by pulling up the metal pine cone weights to reset them. If the clock stops, try winding it. Then start the pendulum. If the clock stops again, the pendulum may be hitting something in its swing and will need adjusting. If that doesn't work, move the pendulum manually and listen for ticking. If the clock does not tick, the hands are stuck. They could be touching each other or the case. Release the minute hand first, then the hour hand, bending them slightly away from the surface they were touching.

Designs

• The cuckoo clock originated in the Black Forest area of southern Germany and was later embraced by clock makers in Switzerland and Austria. Early cuckoo clocks were decorated in the style of 17th century Bavarian hunting lodges. Carved scrolls, deer, rabbits, antlers, acorns and oak leaves were popular decorations. In the late 1800s, a cuckoo clock in the shape of a chalet house was developed in Switzerland and quickly became a popular souvenir.