Thursday, August 24, 2017

Winding Springs and Finding Words


I guess this is probably the longest I've been away from this blog.  Between the summer heat (which, having had very serious heat stroke in the past, I cannot tolerate), general frustration (health, money, the usual stuff), and the fact that I had been complaining (which I do not approve of and would rather I didn't do), I just sort of ran down like the spring in an old clock.  But here's the thing about clock springs:  they are nearly always okay if you remember to wind them up again.  So I've been trying to re-set my mechanism.  I'll never keep time like everybody else but that's okay.

Clocks really are kind of like human beings.  In my family we called clocks, "the clock people" because chiming clocks are like cheerful friends who remind you of their presence when they ring.  The more clocks chiming and ticking the better.  I never could stand the sound of a single clock ticking but two or three or preferably a lot more.....well, that's comforting. 

A few years back, in need of money, I sold off the best of my clocks.  And I miss them. 

Oh, there are still a lot of clocks in my house but some don't work (like the beat up old Seiko-Sho schoolhouse clock that will probably never run again but which holds pride of place in my living room) and others run only when they feel like it (like another schoolhouse clock that lives in my kitchen--its case is so crooked that it will only run if one of the doors of the clock stays open, and that's not good for the movement).  But that's okay; I love them anyhow. 

I've been neglecting all of the clocks lately until I suddenly realized that the house was quiet.  Too quiet.  My clock friends weren't talking.  It was time to go dust things off, wind movements, check batteries, set time, and move forward.  Even when clocks aren't running, time does.

Life is good.


.....I had intended to stop there but I'm going to add just one thing.  A very important thing.  A word of warning, actually.  It's something I learned from a clocksmith, and it's advice that it came at just the right moment for me because it saved me from being seriously injured (like losing fingers).  Literally.

Wind-up clock movements can be dangerous.  It's rare but sometimes an old mainspring can give way when you're winding. 

I had never realized this until I was watching an old clocksmith I used to know (since retired; he was in his 80's and still had more work than he could possibly handle) winding a key movement when the mainspring snapped.  Now, the spring was inside the clock so, of course, I didn't see it but I heard it snap loudly, and I watched the smith react.  He did NOT let go of the key.  He pushed it in as much as he could and he held on tight until the spring ceased unspooling.  When he took his hand away from the clock, his fingers were bruised and bleeding.  But he was grateful that injury wasn't worse.  And he was happy that the clock was still basically intact.

He told me that I must learn from this lesson:  if you feel a "pull back" when you are winding, that is a split second warning before the spring breaks so you must hold on tight as you can to the key and try not to let it turn because a broken spring can do major damage.  If you let go, the key can fly back.  It can break the bones in your fingers or even snap them off because the force of the coiled spring is tremendous.  Also, a flying key can hit you in the face; it's dangerous.  And the damage to the clock can be severe:  it can shatter the entire movement, the face, and even the clock case itself.

Because I had seen the clocksmith's injury and had seen what he had done, his words and his actions really stayed with me.  His reaction to the situation took courage and common sense, and it was the right way to respond.  It was a rare thing to see. 

About a week or two later, I had great need of that lesson.  I owned a 1920's Ingraham mantle clock that was the first nice old clock I'd bought for myself.  I was winding that clock when I felt a pull back and heard a loud report like a gunshot--then all hades broke loose.  I've never felt anything like it.  I held that key as though my life depended upon it.  The main spring had snapped for sure, and it was a rough ride until it wound down.  Like the clocksmith, my hand was bleeding.  I sprained a couple of fingers and nearly dislocated my thumb but I was okay.  I would not have been if not for the clocksmith's unintentional lesson.

If you have old wind-up clocks, take heed.  Remember every time you wind (believe me, I surely do) to pay attention to any hesitation in the clock spring.  Stay safe.  Love clocks anyway. 

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