Pennsylvania Clocks and Clockmakers: An Epic of Early American Science, Industry and Craftsmanship.

Abstract

Some time ago we had some people in for a gathering in our new old house and several of them fell to admiring the grandfather clock, admiration in which I shared wholeheartedly. I realized that I did not know very much about grandfather clocks or clockmakers. On one occasion I had tried for several weeks to get the pendulum to work, trying to get the clock absolutely in the true perpendicular by adjusting tiny wedges under the feet. The yield was nil. Then a man who knew something about clocks, an ancient wizard, came in. Within two minutes he was able to set to rights some ridiculous little ratchet. Presto, all was well. Today after having given one feathery turn of the little gadget on the pendulum which lowers or raises the weight, the clock runs so well that we use it to reset the electric clocks which stop after