In setting up this train, see that the count hook. A, goes into the slot of the count wheel close to, but not touching, one side of the slot in the count wheel, and, after placing the intermediate, insert the locking cam, D, so that it engages the locking hook; then put in the warning wheel with the warning pin, O, safely to the left of the hook C, [Fig. 97], so that it cannot get past that hook after striking. Placing the wheel with its warning pin six or eight teeth to the left of the edge of the bottom plate is generally about right. The action of the levers, H, J, K, the hammer tail, G, and the cam, L, in striking the hours is the same as that already described in detail for Figs. [93] and [94], hence need not be repeated here. L¹ strikes the half hours by being enough shorter than L to raise the hooks for one revolution, but not quite so high as for the hours. The cams L, L¹ are friction-tight on the center arbor and may be shifted on the arbor to register the striking on the 60th minute, if desired. When the hands and strike do not agree, turn the minute hand back and forward between IX and XII, thus striking the clock around until it agrees with the hands.
Sometimes, if the warning pin is not far enough away, an eight-day clock will strike all right for a number of days and then commence to gain or lose on the striking side. It either does not strike at some hours, or half hours, or it may strike sometimes both hour and half hour before stopping. Take the movement out of the case and put the hands on; then move the minute hand around slowly until the clock warns. Look carefully and be sure there is no danger of the clock striking when it warns. If this looks secure, then move the hand to the hour, making it strike; say it is going to strike 9 o’clock; when it has struck eight times, stop the train with your finger and let the wheels run very slow while striking the last one, and when the rod drops into the last notch stop the train again and hold it there.
For the striking part to be correct, the warning pin on the wheel wants to be about one-fourth of a revolution away from the rod when the clock has struck the last time, or as soon as this rod falls down far enough to catch the pin. The object of this is so there is no chance of the warning pin getting past the rod at the last stroke; this it is liable to do if the pin is too close to the rod when the rod drops. If you will examine the clock as above, not only when it strikes IX, but all the hours from I to XII, you will generally find the fault. Of course, if the pin is too close to the rod when the rod drops, you must lift the plates apart and change the wheel so that the warning pin and the rod will be as explained.
Ship’s Bell Striking Work.--Of all the count wheel striking work which comes to the watchmaker, the ship’s bell is most apt to give him trouble. This generally arises from ignorance as to what the system of bells on shipboard consists of and how they should be struck. If he goes to some nautical friend, he hears of long and short “watches” or “full watches” and “dog watches.” If he insists on details, he gets the information that a “watch” is not a horological mechanism, but a period of duty for a part of the crew. Then he is told of the “morning watch,” “first dog watch,” “afternoon watch,” “second dog watch,” “off watch,” “on watch,” etc. Now the ship’s bell clock does not agree with these “watches” and was never intended to do so. As a matter of fact, it is simply a clock striking half hours from one to eight and then repeating through the twenty-four hours.
The striking is peculiarly timed and is an imitation of the method in which the hours are struck on the bell of the ship. As this bell is also used for other purposes, such as tolling in fogs, fire alarms, church services, etc., it will readily be seen that a different method of striking for each purpose is desirable to avoid misunderstanding of signals.
Fig. 98. Ships bell clock.
The method of striking for time is to give the blows in couples, with a short interval between the strokes of the couples and three times that interval between the couples. Odd strokes are treated as a portion of the next couple and separated accordingly, thus:
| 12:30 p. m. | One Bell, | O | |||
| 1:00 p. m. | Two Bells, | O O | |||
| 1:30 p. m. | Three Bells, | O O | O | ||
| 2:00 p. m. | Four Bells, | O O | O O | ||
| 2:30 p. m. | Five Bells, | O O | O O | O | |
| 3:00 p. m. | Six Bells, | O O | O O | O O | |
| 3:30 p. m. | Seven Bells, | O O | O O | O O | O |
| 4:00 p. m. | Eight Bells, | O O | O O | O O | O O |