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With proper care and maintenance, your new
clock will last a lifetime. The following information should answer
most of your questions on its proper setup.
To avoid “uh-oh” and unnecessary frustration,
please review the diagrams and read the unpacking and
hanging instructions once before unpacking your new
treasure. Then follow the steps once again as you unpack
and hang your brand new Cuckoo Clock.
1. Gently unpack your clock (a), locating the pendulum (b), weights
(c), and headboard (d). Your clock may or may not have a headboard and
it may have two or three weights, depending on the model. Be sure to
save the original box and packing material for future use.
2. Place the clock face down. Open the back of the clock by
turning the small metal latch (2a). Remove the back panel and pull the
paper out from behind the spiral gong wire on the inside of the back
panel (2b).
3. Gently slide out the two bellow clips (3a, 3b) at the upper inside
of the clock and save them with the original packing material. Replace
the back panel.
4. Turn the clock onto its backside. Push aside the wire lever (4) to
unlatch the cuckooʼs door, allowing the door to swing freely. The wire
latch should remain affixed to the clock body.
5.
At the bottom of the case, you will see a paper packet which secures
the clockʼs chains. Loosen and remove the paper packet, allowing the
ends of the chains with the round brass washers to extend fully. If
there are knots in the chains, untangle them gently. Once the chains
are untangled, keep the clock in an upright position to avoid their
sliding inside the clock and off the sprocket wheels.
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6. For maximum running time, hang
your clock approximately 6ʼ off
the floor on a secure, strong nail or
hook. At this height, the round chain
ends should hang about 6” off the
floor. Running time will be a full
day or week depending on the clock
mechanism.
If there is no stud behind the wall
where the nail is to be driven, use
a wallboard anchor (molybolt) or
heavy duty fastener of the correct
type for your wall. Picture hooks
will not provide the necessary level
of safety.
Make sure the clock hangs flush on
the wall and does not lean forward.
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7. Attach the pendulum to the “U”
shaped wire pendulum leader at the
bottom of the clock (7a). Then attach
the weights to the hook ends of the
chains (7b).
8. Now mount the headboard if
there is one.
| 1. Silent Lever. Most River City
Cuckoo clocks have a “silent” lever
on the side or bottom of the case.
Place the lever in the “on” position
if you want your clock to “cuckoo”
and play music (on models so
equipped). In the “silent” or “off”
position, , both cuckoo and music
are silenced. Avoid placing the lever
on “silent” as the cuckoo is sounding;
you may, however, move the
lever to “on” at any time. |
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2. Start the clock and place it “in beat.” Gently swing the pendulum to one
side to start its momentum and initiate the clockʼs ticking. Listen carefully- if
the ticking lacks a perfect or regular rhythm, your clock will run for only a few
minutes and then stop. Swing the base of the clock a little to the left or right until
the ticking is even. Many owners place a faint pencil mark on the wall along
one side of the clock. This can be used to reposition the clock if it is accidentally
moved.
3. Set the time by moving the long hand (minute hand) clockwise or counterclockwise.
If the short hand (hour hand) is accidentally moved out of place, the
hour indicated by the hour hand will disagree with the cuckoo count. You can
gently hold the hour hand near the shaft and turn it clockwise or counter-clockwise
so that it correctly indicates the number of hours counted by the cuckoo.
Then, using both thumbs, push the hand down on the shaft (back towards the
dial) to tighten.
In the event that your clock stops running and the minute hand wonʼt move
forward, turn the minute hand counter-clockwise one hour, then slowly advance
it clockwise or counter-wise to the correct time and repeat No. 2 above.
4. Winding the clock. To wind your clock, firmly pull the free ends (ring ends)
of the chains to raise the weights to the base of the clock.
To avoid the chains coming off the sprockets inside the clock, always keep the
weights on the chains. Avoid roughness in winding and never pull on the weights
themselves as this may damage the chains or ratchet mechanism.
It is impossible to overwind your cuckoo, however you may damage the chains
if you continue to pull on them once the weights have reached the base of the
clock.
| 5. Regulating your clock. You can adjust your clock to run faster or slower.
To make your clock run faster, unhook the pendulum and slide the pendulum
carving up a bit on the pendulum stick; to make the clock run slower, pull the
carving down a bit. Reattach the pendulum to the pendulum
leader at the base of the clock.
Set your clock using an accurate time source after each pendulum
adjustment. Once your clock is accurately regulated,
you can mark the back side of the pendulum stick with a
pencil indicating the position of the carving on the stick. If
the carving is accidentally moved, you can easily replace it
to its correct position. |
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Mechanical Cuckoo Clock Troubleshooting
My cuckoo clock is not cuckooing at all!
Problem: Your cuckoo clock is not cuckooing at all.
Solution:
Take the bellow clips off of the bellows. The bellow clips are
used to keep your clock silent while being shipped. To see if your
clock still has its bellow clips on open the back door of the cuckoo
clock case. If you see bellow clips gently pull them out. Open the Make sure the silent lever beneath the clock case is pulled down On some clocks the silent lever needs to be pushed up in order for the clock to cuckoo. Make sure the cuckoo clock door is not being blocked by the latch that holds the door closed
If your clock still does not cuckoo after completing the steps above
contact your local clock repair shop or if the clock is still under
warranty, contact us.
The clock is not cuckooing exactly at the top of the hour
Problem: Your cuckoo clock is cuckooing the cuckoo call at the wrong time (any time other than at the top of the hour).
Solution: Slowly turn the minute hand of the clock
clockwise until you hear the a clicking sound that is followed by a the
cuckoo call. After the clicking sound and before the clock begins
cuckooing remove the weights and stop the pendulum from swinging. Then gently unscrew the screw that secures the minute hand and gently pull the minute hand off of the hand shaft. Then gently
place the minute hand back on the hand shaft in the pointing straight
up to the XII roman numeral (the top of the hour or :00 position).
Secure the minute hand by tightening the screw back onto the hand
shaft. Hang the weights back on the chains and put the pendulum in
motion. Your clock should now cuckoo at the top of the hour.
My cuckoo clock is gaining or losing time
Problem: The cuckoo clock is running slower or faster than it should be, not keeping time.
Solution: The pendulum swinging beneath the cuckoo clock
case controls the timing of the clock. You are able to adjust the
weight distribution of the pendulum by sliding the piece connected to
the pendulum stick up or down. If your cuckoo clock's timing should
ever need adjustment, you can control the speed of your clock by
sliding the leaf or oval shape up or down the pendulum stick. Sliding
the leaf/oval shape down causes the cuckoo clock to run slightly
slower, while sliding the maple leaf up makes the cuckoo clock run
slightly faster. It make take several adjustments to get your cuckoo
clock time perfectly but once you determine the proper pendulum
position you will not have to adjust it again.
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