The Famous Cuckoo Clock
 The
Cuckoo Clock as it is known today, has its beginnings in the Black Forest
area of Germany, namely the city of Triburg. It was around 1738 that Anton
Ketterer, it is believed, made the first cuckoo clock with the traditional bird
and sound. He used a technique that he borrowed from pipe organs, a bellows
system that made the clock crow like a cuckoo bird. Two pipes, or whistles, were
used, one lower pitched that the other, with a bellows on the top that blew a
burst of air into it that made it whistle.
This started in the village of Schönwald and was the
start of a whole industry. These clocks became so intricate for one person to
produce, that the demand could not be met. Folks began to specialize, where some
cut gears, others made cases and the carvings while others assembled the clocks
and made the adjustments.
The clocks popularity rose and the industry got so large, that around 1808 over
800 of the towns 9000 some inhabitants were involved in some way with clock
making. In 1880, the Duke of Baden founded a school of clock making where
students were taught mathematics, carpentry, and movement making.
Today these clocks are great conversation pieces, attracting attention just by
it looks when people walk by. People wait just before the clock strikes to see
the bird come out of its door and call "cuckoo". Some clocks have a music box
that has a man playing a zither who comes out of his own door. These clocks play
a different melody at the hour and half hour.
If you own one of these cuckoo clocks, you have a clock that has a long and
interesting history, perhaps more so than any other clock. It is still made of
wood from the linden tree, just like it was at the beginning, and they are made
both hunter style with guns and a dear head on top, or the traditional clock
with the cuckoo bird in flight at the top.
Also there are other styles, one that even has grape vines on its front. This
came about through the influence of the Italian tunnel makers who were hired to
dig tunnels in Germany for a railroad that was built in the Black Forest.
Setting up your clock
If you do have one of these clocks, you need to know how to properly set one up.
It must be placed on a wall so that the pendulum can swing freely. It must be in
a vertical position. Next, you must adjust it from side to side, tilting it on
the nail it hangs on, so that it makes an even tick tock sound. You can't do
this by looks, only by your ears while listening for that even tick tock sound.
Hanging it perfectly straight will not ensure it will be running correctly. But
it might need a slight tilt to one side before it tick tocks evenly.
Some clocks will run for 1 day (30 hour clocks), others for 8 days (8 day
clock), meaning that the weights will need to be pulled up once a day or every
eight days.
Let your clock run for 24 hours before you try to set it to run on time. The
pendulum is what regulates its time keeping, and if it is slow or fast it will
need adjusting to make the clock run on time. But remember, no mechanical clock
will keep perfect time like a quartz clock, but it can be made to come
reasonably close.
After 24 hours, if you notice your clock is fast or slow, the pendulum will need
adjusting. To adjust, you move the leaf on the stick up or down. It will slide
on the stick. It might be tight but it will slip. You move it up to make the
clock run faster, and down to make it run slower.
The way this works it that for every 1/8 inch that it is moved up or down, will
make the clock run 3 minutes faster or slower in a 24 hour period. Say, if it is
1 1/2 minutes slow, you would move the leaf up 1/16 of an inch and time it
again.
Once you have your clock running on time, you will be able to fully enjoy your
clock, knowing that it is not only beautiful but functional as well.
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