Two Tips To Ensure The Tick Tock Of Your Grandfather Clock Does Not Stop While Moving
Grandfather clocks are not the lightest item around, so as you are moving for the first time since purchasing it, it would be best to hire a professional removal team to do all the lifting for you. However, in order to make sure your precious grandfather clock makes the relocation in one piece, there are two things you can do to help protect it before it is loaded on the truck.
Remove The Weights And Pendulum
The weights and the pendulum add a significant amount of weight to the grandfather clock, so your first step should be to remove these prior to relocation. These items are hanging on clips and should be relatively easy to simply lift up slightly to reduce the tension and unhook. Not only does it reduce the overall weight of the clock but it stops these items from smashing into the glass while in transit.
There are a couple of pointers to make sure the weights and pendulum don't get damaged once you remove them from the clock:
- Many pendulums are made of solid brass, so you want to remove it by wearing a pair of soft cotton gloves to touch the surface with. If you don't have gloves, hold each edge with a soft cotton cloth. The oil on your fingertips will leave unsightly marks on the pendulum surface if you touch it with your bare hands.
- Put a small piece of masking tape on the back of the weights and mark them with 'left' and 'right' so you put them back on correctly at your new home. Because the weights are not identical, putting them back on incorrectly would cause the clock to perform badly and not keep the correct time.
Organise an appropriately sized box from your removalist to pack the pendulum and weights into. Each piece should be wrapped in a soft towel or old blanket to stop them scratching against each other.
Secure Interior Chains And Cables
The interior chains and cables that your pendulum and weights were attached to will now be hanging free during the move, and you do not want them to become tangled. One of the best ways to solve this issue is to attach them to a piece of cardboard for stability.
Find a piece of cardboard in your home (part of an old box would do the trick) and cut off a length which is slightly longer than the chains and cables you want to protect. Next, have a helper hold the cardboard behind the links while you place strips of packing tape across the front of the chains. This will attach them to the cardboard and stop them from getting tangled around each other while the object is getting moved.
A grandfather clock is an item to be handed down through the generations, so you want to make sure it stays in working order while it is moved between homes. These tips help to protect some very important parts of your clock so it will continue to function well in the years ahead.
