Model 275 Slow Timekeeping

by Al Jones
(Williamsport, MD)

1985 Ridgeway Model 275

1985 Ridgeway Model 275

Ridgeway Fans:

We recently acquired a 1985 Ridgeway Model 275 Grandfathers clock with a cable driven movement.

It is in lovely condition and the chimes sound correctly. It has been running five minutes slow each day, despite multiple adjustments to the pendulum.

The second dial now appears to be running fast (against my stopwatch) but the second hand continually loses time.

The pendulum adjustment is moving the rods and I don't want to keep adjusting at this point unless I see some improvement.

So far, the pendulum adjustments don't appear to change the slow time keeping at all.

Could anyone offer me advice on a next step?

Any advice is definitely appreciated.

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Feb 21, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Solution
by: Al Jones

Thanks. I had tried adjusting the pendulum to shorten the swing and speed the clock, but that appeared to have no effect on the time keeping. My shop technician found the pendulum had not been assembled properly and when corrected, adjusting the pendulum up speed up the clock. Unfortuantely his adjustment using mechanical device still didn't completely make the time keeping accurate. It took me another two weeks of incremental adjustment and recording my movements to get it adjusted properly. It has been keeping perfect time ever since. Thanks! Hopefully this might be helpful to someone with a similar model/movement.
Feb 21, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Keeping time
by: Anonymous

Having a Ridgeway for over 30 years doesn't make me an expert. But you should know the basic timekeeping part is the pendulum. Shorter is faster, longer is slower. So the business you mention which moves the weight up/down is how one regulates it's timekeeping accuracy. You can do this yourself over several days to get the time closer to correct. Once close, there will still be some variance with temperature, as it can minutely affect the pendulum length.

On my clock, I just make small corrections to the dial when I raise the weights, but may be chastised by the experts for such a crude correction method as opposed to changing the pendulum.
Sep 24, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Clock Tuned up
by: Anonymous

Yesterday, the shop who sold the clock in '85 came by the house to oil and adjust the clock. They had no record of the previous owner getting any service, so that was a good move.
The technician found the pendulum wasn't assembled correctly, so the time keeping adjustment knob no the bottom wasn't moving the pendulum. I thought that looked a little odd, but didn't have enough experience to determine it was on wrong. He used an electronic timer to adjust the beats-per-minute and oil the movement. He said the rest of the clock was in fine shape.
He marveled over the cherry wood and said they don't make cherry clocks anymore, they would be too expensive. When he called the clock he told them it was in such fine shape we must have had it for a long time. When he got off the phone, I shared we had just bought it. He also added Ridgeway was the only brand that made a corner clock and that was the first one he had worked on. He said we did very well with this purchase, which made me feel even better.

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