Sometimes the moon dial on a grandfather clock refuses to turn.
Grandfather clock moon dial setting.
Rotate the moon dial clockwise 1 lunar day for every day past the full moon.
When the moon is full it is 15 days old.
If the grandfather clock stops for more than 24 hours the moon dial will also stop and must be reset when the grandfather clock is started again.
Now the dial is accurately set and will indicate the proper moon phases as long as the clock operates continuously without interruption.
A one half rotation of the disk occurs every 29 5 days which is one lunar cycle.
The moon dial is adjustable via the options panel to bring it closer in line with the shifting of the moons cycles.
Be well aware that if the clock stops for 24 hours or longer then the moon dial will also stop.
The moon dial on a grandfather clock also gave the manufacturers of the clocks to add a personal touch to their grandfather clocks.
Find the click spring.
To set moon dial apply slight pressure with your fingers to the front of the moon dial.
The click spring is located just behind the moon dial itself.
So you can set your moon dial to the correct phase when you feel it might get off.
It doesn t matter if the full moon falls on the 1st of the month the 10th of the month or the 20th of the month.
The moon dial is now set and will indicate the proper moon phases as long as the grandfather clock operates continuously.
The moon dial is now set and will indicate the proper moon phases as long as the grandfather clock operates continuously.
When this occurs you will no longer hear the clicking sound as you advance it and you will feel a significant drag or scraping sound.
The moon dial is now set and will indicate the proper moon phases as long as the clock operates continuously.
If you have a grandfather clock with moon phase follow these instructions.
Many of the older grandfather clocks or english tall case clocks as many people called them had a painting on the dial along side of the moons each dial has 2 moons to keep the calendar accurate.
Pull the click spring back about a half inch from the teeth of the moon dial and then allow it to fall back into place.
To fix this problem open the door or panel by the clock face.
Like mechanical clocks this clock uses the mean lunar phase so will drift slightly over the months and years back and forth the phase setting allows for occasional correction of any unwanted drift.
If the last full moon was 3 days ago rotate the moon dial clockwise 3 lunar days so that the moon is centered at lunar day 18 on the lunar arch.
If the grandfather clock stops for more than 24 hours the moon dial will also stop and must be reset when the grandfather clock is started again.
Next turn the moon dial clockwise one click for each day that has passed since the last full moon.