North Coast Imports, Inc.

Here's a great video from the VdS (Black Forest Clock Association) on how to troubleshoot your cuckoo clock hands. You can also find more information on this topic on our page here.

How does a cuckoo know how many times to call? Why is my clock only calling once when the hands say 3:00? These are great questions, and the ingenious works of a mechanical clock can do it, but a few things have to be in proper adjustment. Here are some things to watch out for to keep your clock working, and keep your cuckoo calling the right number. First, check the hands. We already have an article about the proper alignment of a cuckoo clocks hands. Second, check the rack. Here you can see a picture of one of our cuckoo clocks with the dial removed. Circled you see a black, sickle-shaped part that we call the "rack." This part has a certain number of teeth on it that are counted by the brass pin to the right of the part. Sometimes, through excessive handing upside down, this rack can get stuck in a position that is too high for the pin to count its teeth. In the picture below, you are looking at the clock mechanism from the back. You can see the top part of the rack...

A lot of confusion can crop up with hands that aren't cooperating. For example, sometimes it may look as if you clock has stopped but in reality the hands just aren't moving because they are too loose on the shaft. Sometimes one hand might be turning normaly, while the other stays still. Sometimes your clock might not be chiming or striking or calling when it's supposed to, but does it just before or just after the hour. If any of these things apply to you, don't worry, your clock isn't broken, it just fell out of adjustment. Clock hands are purposefully kept finger-tight or friction-fit so that they can be easily adjusted. Many clocks have very different methods for holding hands on. Most modern clocks follow some variation of the cuckoo clock model ( discussed here in great detail ) but there are a few that still follow the traditional example of antique clocks. The Tapered Pin is, to the clockmaker, as the nail is to the carpenter. This is an elegant, slender pin...