Worn platform escapement - rebuild?
Discussion
Okay this is actually a clock but here seems the most appropriate place to post.
I have a really nice old ships clock with a fusee movement. It runs but the escapement is worn - I have had it looked at and the escapement has been declared beyond repair.
Looking at it, the issue appears to be worn pivots though the hairspring look slightly distorted.
I would very much like to keep this clock and get it into good working order. Are there any 'escapement experts' out there who could advise and perhaps recommend a specialists who might be able to appraise and restore it?
I will post some pics up.
I have a really nice old ships clock with a fusee movement. It runs but the escapement is worn - I have had it looked at and the escapement has been declared beyond repair.
Looking at it, the issue appears to be worn pivots though the hairspring look slightly distorted.
I would very much like to keep this clock and get it into good working order. Are there any 'escapement experts' out there who could advise and perhaps recommend a specialists who might be able to appraise and restore it?
I will post some pics up.
I've just had the platform replaced on a mantle clock. A new platform was £150 and according the the clockmaker it was about an hour of work.
I'm afraid I can not recommend the clockmaker that I used though.
My clock was originally sent to the clockmaker in August of 2025 for repair as it did not run. It was returned to me in November 2025, it ran, but it did not keep time. It was terrible at around 3 minutes per day. I attempted to regulate and eventually gave up in March 2026, when I used a timing app to see what was going on. The beat error was jumping between 7ms and something off the scale. Timing was jumping between -40s per day and something so fast that the app couldn't measure it.
The clock was returned to the clock maker in March with this information. The clock maker refused to believe me and spent a little over month attempting to regulate it. He's old school and doesn't use a timing app. At this point he agreed that it needed further work and said the platform was beyond repair.
It then took a further six months for him to fit the new platform. Something taht he said was around one hour of work. He's a nice guy and he always had a good excuse, but frankly once he had my money (£650) for the initial repair - whether it's a fair assessment or not - it felt like the remedial work was at the bottom of his pile.
All that said, the work that has been done appears to have been completed to a high standard.
Pistonheads rules prevent naming and shaming, so I won't name the guy here. However, should be in Hampshire and you need clockworks, pm me and I'll share the details.
I'm afraid I can not recommend the clockmaker that I used though.
My clock was originally sent to the clockmaker in August of 2025 for repair as it did not run. It was returned to me in November 2025, it ran, but it did not keep time. It was terrible at around 3 minutes per day. I attempted to regulate and eventually gave up in March 2026, when I used a timing app to see what was going on. The beat error was jumping between 7ms and something off the scale. Timing was jumping between -40s per day and something so fast that the app couldn't measure it.
The clock was returned to the clock maker in March with this information. The clock maker refused to believe me and spent a little over month attempting to regulate it. He's old school and doesn't use a timing app. At this point he agreed that it needed further work and said the platform was beyond repair.
It then took a further six months for him to fit the new platform. Something taht he said was around one hour of work. He's a nice guy and he always had a good excuse, but frankly once he had my money (£650) for the initial repair - whether it's a fair assessment or not - it felt like the remedial work was at the bottom of his pile.
All that said, the work that has been done appears to have been completed to a high standard.
Pistonheads rules prevent naming and shaming, so I won't name the guy here. However, should be in Hampshire and you need clockworks, pm me and I'll share the details.
Thanks for this - whilst I know you can purchase new Swiss platform escapements unfortunately this is a bespoke English clock and the escapement has been built to suit the movement.
I've been reliably informed that the only option would be to rebuild the escapement with as a mininimum a new balance staff, balance spring and jewels - unfortunately it looks like that is a non starter purely on economics.
I've been reliably informed that the only option would be to rebuild the escapement with as a mininimum a new balance staff, balance spring and jewels - unfortunately it looks like that is a non starter purely on economics.
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