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Grandfather Clock

Product

Overview

A grandfather clock, properly a longcase clock, is a tall freestanding pendulum clock whose mechanism is powered by falling weights. Its height is functional: the long case gives a heavy weight room to descend over a full week, and it accommodates a seconds-beating pendulum nearly a metre long, whose period sets the rate. Three separate gear trains let the clock keep time, strike the hours, and play a quarter-hour chime melody on a set of tuned rods.

The clock assembles a weight-driven brass mechanism within a tall piece of furniture. The brass Movement sits on the seatboard of the Cabinet, reading the time through the Dial Assembly with its chapter ring and moon-phase complication. Rate is governed by the Pendulum hung behind the movement; energy is supplied by three cast Driving Weight units on cables; the strike and chime hammers sound the Chime Rod Set; the hood and trunk are glazed with the Glass Panel Set; and the weights are raised weekly with the Winding Key / Crank.

How it works

The movement is built between two brass plates spaced by turned pillars, which carry every arbor of the three trains. Each weight, hung over a pulley, drives one train through a ratchet-and-click winding arbor that lets it be wound without running the train backwards.

The time (going) train is regulated by an anchor escapement: its anchor rocks once per pendulum swing, releasing the escape wheel one tooth at a time and returning an impulse to the pendulum through the crutch. The seconds-beating pendulum's rate is fine-tuned by raising or lowering its bob with the rating nut.

At the quarter hours, the chime train is released; a pinned barrel lifts the hammers in sequence to play the Westminster melody on the tubular chime rods, while an air-brake fly governor paces the train at the correct tempo. On the hour the strike train counts out the hour on a separate hammer. Under the dial, the motion works divide 12:1 to drive the hour hand, and a 59-tooth lunar wheel advances the moon-phase disc one step per day.

Grandfather Clock parts and their functions

9 top-level parts · 168 parts in total · full bill of materials below
Grandfather Clock parts diagram: 1 cabinet, 2 dial assembly, 3 movement, 4 pendulum, 5 driving weight, 6 chime rod set, 7 glass panel set, 8 winding key / crank, 9 fastener set. 168 parts in 9 top-level items.
Grandfather Clock parts diagram. Numbers match the table below; each box is one top-level part or assembly with what it contains.
#PartQtyWhat it does
1 Cabinet 8 parts 1× Wooden longcase
2 Dial Assembly 6 parts 1× Dial and hands
3 Movement 9 parts 1× Brass clockwork
4 Pendulum 4 parts 1× Seconds-beating pendulum: a long rod with a heavy bob, hung from a flat suspension spring, with a rating nut to fine-tune rate.
5 Driving Weight 4 parts 3× Going, strike, chime weights
6 Chime Rod Set 2 parts 1× Tubular chime rods
7 Glass Panel Set 2 parts 1× Hood and door glass panels
8 Winding Key / Crank 1× Winding crank/key
9 Fastener Set 4× Case and movement screws

3D model

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Build & assembly graph

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Bill of materials for Grandfather Clock

9 top-level lines · 82 rows shown · 168 parts total · indented to 3 levels
# Item / sub-assembly Part no. Qty/assy Ext. qty Parts Type
1 Cabinet 8 parts grandfather-clock-cabinet 1× 1 17 assembly
1.1 Hood / Bonnet grandfather-clock-hood 1× 1 · part
1.2 Trunk / Waist 4 parts grandfather-clock-trunk 1× 1 5 assembly
1.2.1 Trunk Door grandfather-clock-trunk-door 1× 1 · part
1.2.2 Trunk Door Glass grandfather-clock-trunk-glass 1× 1 · part
1.2.3 Door Hinge grandfather-clock-door-hinge 2× 2 · part
1.2.4 Door Lock grandfather-clock-door-lock 1× 1 · part
1.3 Base / Plinth grandfather-clock-base 1× 1 · part
1.4 Backboard grandfather-clock-backboard 1× 1 · part
1.5 Seatboard grandfather-clock-seatboard 1× 1 · part
1.6 Hood Column grandfather-clock-column 4× 4 · part
1.7 Brass Finial grandfather-clock-finial 3× 3 · part
1.8 Fastener Set fastener-set 1× 1 · part
2 Dial Assembly 6 parts grandfather-clock-dial 1× 1 10 assembly
2.1 Dial Plate grandfather-clock-dial-plate 1× 1 · part
2.2 Chapter Ring grandfather-clock-chapter-ring 1× 1 · part
2.3 Spandrel grandfather-clock-spandrel 4× 4 · part
2.4 Moon-Phase Mechanism 2 parts grandfather-clock-moon-phase 1× 1 2 assembly
2.4.1 Moon-Phase Disc grandfather-clock-moon-disc 1× 1 · part
2.4.2 Moon Drive Wheel grandfather-clock-moon-drive-wheel 1× 1 · part
2.5 Hour Hand grandfather-clock-hour-hand 1× 1 · part
2.6 Minute Hand grandfather-clock-minute-hand 1× 1 · part
3 Movement 9 parts grandfather-clock-movement 1× 1 111 assembly
3.1 Plate & Pillar Set 2 parts grandfather-clock-plate-set 1× 1 7 assembly
3.1.1 Brass Plate grandfather-clock-plate 2× 2 · part
3.1.2 Movement Pillar grandfather-clock-pillar 5× 5 · part
3.2 Time (Going) Train 5 parts grandfather-clock-time-train 1× 1 21 assembly
3.2.1 Brass Wheel grandfather-clock-wheel 4× 4 · part
3.2.2 Steel Pinion grandfather-clock-pinion 3× 3 · part
3.2.3 Arbor grandfather-clock-arbor 4× 4 · part
3.2.4 Pivot Bushing grandfather-clock-bushing 8× 8 · part
3.2.5 Ball Bearing ball-bearing 2× 2 · part
3.3 Strike Train 5 parts grandfather-clock-strike-train 1× 1 21 assembly
3.3.1 Brass Wheel grandfather-clock-wheel 4× 4 · part
3.3.2 Steel Pinion grandfather-clock-pinion 3× 3 · part
3.3.3 Arbor grandfather-clock-arbor 4× 4 · part
3.3.4 Pivot Bushing grandfather-clock-bushing 8× 8 · part
3.3.5 Ball Bearing ball-bearing 2× 2 · part
3.4 Chime Train 6 parts grandfather-clock-chime-train 1× 1 22 assembly
3.4.1 Brass Wheel grandfather-clock-wheel 4× 4 · part
3.4.2 Steel Pinion grandfather-clock-pinion 3× 3 · part
3.4.3 Arbor grandfather-clock-arbor 4× 4 · part
3.4.4 Chime Pin Barrel grandfather-clock-chime-barrel 1× 1 · part
3.4.5 Pivot Bushing grandfather-clock-bushing 8× 8 · part
3.4.6 Ball Bearing ball-bearing 2× 2 · part
3.5 Escapement 3 parts grandfather-clock-escapement 1× 1 3 assembly
3.5.1 Escape Wheel grandfather-clock-escape-wheel 1× 1 · part
3.5.2 Anchor / Pallet grandfather-clock-anchor 1× 1 · part
3.5.3 Crutch grandfather-clock-crutch 1× 1 · part
3.6 Winding Works 4 parts grandfather-clock-winding-works 1× 1 12 assembly
3.6.1 Winding Arbor grandfather-clock-winding-arbor 3× 3 · part
3.6.2 Ratchet Wheel grandfather-clock-ratchet-wheel 3× 3 · part
3.6.3 Click / Pawl grandfather-clock-click 3× 3 · part
3.6.4 Coil Spring coil-spring 3× 3 · part
3.7 Motion Works 3 parts grandfather-clock-motion-works 1× 1 3 assembly
3.7.1 Cannon Pinion grandfather-clock-cannon-pinion 1× 1 · part
3.7.2 Minute Wheel grandfather-clock-minute-wheel 1× 1 · part
3.7.3 Hour Wheel grandfather-clock-hour-wheel 1× 1 · part
3.8 Strike/Chime Governor 4 parts grandfather-clock-governor 1× 1 21 assembly
3.8.1 Fly / Air Brake grandfather-clock-fly 1× 1 · part
3.8.2 Chime Hammer grandfather-clock-hammer 8× 8 · part
3.8.3 Lift Lever grandfather-clock-lever 4× 4 · part
3.8.4 Coil Spring coil-spring 8× 8 · part
3.9 Fastener Set fastener-set 1× 1 · part
4 Pendulum 4 parts grandfather-clock-pendulum 1× 1 4 assembly
4.1 Pendulum Rod grandfather-clock-pendulum-rod 1× 1 · part
4.2 Pendulum Bob grandfather-clock-pendulum-bob 1× 1 · part
4.3 Coil Spring coil-spring 1× 1 · part
4.4 Rating Nut grandfather-clock-rating-nut 1× 1 · part
5 Driving Weight 4 parts grandfather-clock-weight 3× 3 4 assembly
5.1 Cast Weight Shell grandfather-clock-weight-shell 1× 3 · part
5.2 Weight Cable / Chain grandfather-clock-cable 1× 3 · part
5.3 Weight Pulley grandfather-clock-pulley 1× 3 · part
5.4 Ball Bearing ball-bearing 1× 3 · part
6 Chime Rod Set 2 parts grandfather-clock-chime-rod-set 1× 1 6 assembly
6.1 Chime Tube grandfather-clock-chime-tube 5× 5 · part
6.2 Chime Mounting Block grandfather-clock-chime-block 1× 1 · part
7 Glass Panel Set 2 parts grandfather-clock-glass-set 1× 1 3 assembly
7.1 Hood Door Glass grandfather-clock-hood-glass 1× 1 · part
7.2 Bonnet Side Glass grandfather-clock-side-glass 2× 2 · part
8 Winding Key / Crank grandfather-clock-key 1× 1 · part
9 Fastener Set fastener-set 4× 4 · part

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Sourcing: possible vendors

Browse the supplier directory → Prices, MOQ, and lead times are algorithmic estimates, not quotes, and not claims about these companies. Company mappings are curated by keyword; est. price band $20–$50k. How estimates work
VendorHQSpecialtyMOQLead time
🇯🇵Seiko
seikowatches.com ↗ 		Tokyo, JP Watches 500 units 8–14 wks
🇯🇵Citizen
citizenwatch-global.com ↗ 		Tokyo, JP Watches 500 units 8–14 wks
🇯🇵Casio
casio.com ↗ 		Tokyo, JP Watches & electronics 500 units 8–14 wks
🇨🇭Swatch Group
swatchgroup.com ↗ 		Biel, CH Watches (Omega, Tissot) 500 units 8–14 wks
🇮🇳Titan Company
titancompany.in ↗ 		Bengaluru, IN Watches & timepieces 500 units 8–14 wks

370-word article