Regulation
or the act of adjusting the rate of a clock is a simple series of
repeated steps until the desired affect is achieved. This is
accomplished by governing the location of the center of gravity
along the length of the pendulum.
While many factors may affect the timekeeping rate of your
clock, none will as much as changes in the ambient temperature of
its environment, assuming the mechanics are in good working order
as excessive friction from any source can have an adverse effect
on the time keeping ability of the movement. Every moving part
must be good condition and properly lubricated so the geartrain to
operate as freely as possible. Friction leads to wear which is
your clocks number one enemy.
Once you have observed a change in timekeeping over the course
of several days it is time to begin the regulation procedure. Keep
a pad and pen handy for recording notes, include the starting
error and all adjustments you make as this will greatly assist the
process. Remember to use a rate of error that is consistent such
as minutes or seconds per 24 hours, and to use the same time
source for making all of your comparisons.
Adjusting the pendulum shorter will cause your clock to run
faster while lengthening it causes it to run slower or simply put
"speedup, slowdown".
Look
for the rating nut at the base of the pendulum which is what
raised or lowers the pendulum disk or bob. Remember that the
pendulum disk may become wedged against the rod, especially in the
case of a wooden stick and some help may be needed. Turning the
rating nut without affecting the disk has no bearing on
timekeeping
By turning the rating nut to the right the disk will raise,
which will make the clock faster while turning it left will lower
the disk and make the clock slower. The rule of thumb is 1 turn of
the regulating nut equals 1 minute per 24 hours, but your results
may prove different and that is what makes the note keeping
important to your success. By recording your actions 3 or 4 daily
sessions is normally all that is needed. You should not try or
expect to correct the error in one session, but rather try to
split the difference by half each session, slowly sneaking up on
the error without over shooting or see-sawing back and forth.
