Hi, I’m currently building the Cuckoo Clock. The actual clock unit has a pendulum, and there is a small compartment which is obviously for holding the small rectangular ‘weight’. This ‘weight’ was in one of the plastic bags, and so I didn’t fit it to the pendulum arm, as I assumed it would appear in the instructions in due course. Now I’m assembling the roof, and I now have to assume that the ‘weight’ should already have been fitted into its little compartment on the pendulum arm.
Should I endeavour to fit this weight into its place, or is it ok to leave it off? Is the pendulum merely aesthetic or is it functional? It looks to me as if the pendulum is merely for ‘effect’, but I could be wrong.
SO; Pendulum weight: Should be fitted, or doesn’t make a difference either way?
Welcome to community @KMG .
Many people have assembled this model. Hopefully, they can help you. In my opinion, this pendulum doesn’t affect anything. But I’m not sure.
Not sure either, but I’ll fit it anyway. It’s obviously there for a reason, even if it’s just to give a ‘faux’ pendulum a bit more momentum. If I’m building the clock, I might as well do it properly
I did this build. But it was a few months ago. I do have the pendulum on and it does move back and forth making a tic toc noise. I am thinking it needs to be on there but honestly not positive. I would have to experiment.
Unsure if this is helpful or not, or if I am understanding your question!
To clarify, the actual pendulum arm that swings is not in question. Just wondering about the little rectangulsr ‘weight’ that sits just above the wooden crescent moon thingy that is held on by a screw. Mine was in a bag..
Hi @KMG! I built the Cuckoo Clock recently and right now I’m not sure which piece you’re referring to. I’ve been checking my instructions and I didn’t have any rectangular “weight.” In fact, on the pendulum mechanism there’s only the crescent-shaped piece attached at the end with a screw.
Could you share a photo so I can see which piece you mean? That way I can get a clearer idea and try to help figure out what it might be.
That was all I could see as well. Now I did find a small rectangular magnet. Unsure where it goes as I found it after I was cleaning up fro: clock. Was never sure what it went to. But someone had posted a picture of it and was asking questions about it.
Yes, that’s the item I mean, and I discovered it is magnetic. I can’t think why it should be magnetic, but because I assume that a part included in the kit must have a purpose, and it’s the same size as the compartment near the bottom of the pendulum, I have to assume it fits there. So, I’ve glued it in place with a tiny dab of superglue. I’m pretty sure the pendulum is merely aesthetic so it shouldn’t really make a difference, apart from giving the pendulum a tiny bit more mass, so making its movement smoother. There is the option on the last page of the instructions to lock the pendulum off to one side, instead of leaving it free to swing, so this also suggests that the pendulum is just for effect. I’ve nearly finished the clock, so I’ll find out later. The cuckoo and lights etc worked fine at the ‘test’ stage, so hopefully it’s all good. I’ve only got the little attic window to go. The clock itself looks fantastic!
I discovered the magnet later after clock is built. But maybe that is why I cannot get cuckoo to go at the hour. I have reset and it is late. I will have to dig through a bit. If I find out somewhere that it is important, I will let ya know!
Sorry for the trouble this has caused you. We’ve already passed your issue on to our customer service team and they’ll help you look into it as soon as possible.
and Welcome to the community @KMG , thank you for sharing your experience with us.
The magnet is there as part of an elecromechanical action to keep the pendulum swinging. As the magnet passes by the energised coil inside the clock it gives the pendulum a little “kick” each pass. Otherwise the pendulum will slow down and stop.
The pendulum is ornamental. I ran the clock overnight with the pendulum docked and the clock did not loose time. I assume time keeping is done internally by a quartz crystal and electronics.
I have just partly built this model and have run into another problem with pendulum action which I am trying to resolve.
Thanks for your help. Fitted magnet as described above, and clock working very well. Strange that the magnet isn’t mentioned in the instructions, but having a receptical on the pendulum and a magnet of the same size just shouts ‘this magnet fits here’! Cuckoo is very amusing.
The only slight criticism I would have, is that it would be good if there was a light in the bird house, so light flooded out behind the bird when the doors open. I am also going to stick a small piece of wood in front of the light below the bird, as it is a little ‘glarey’.
The pendulum is quite fast in its movement, but there is no noise, apart from an almost inaudible click when it swings left.
Also, I did find a way to upload a video, but it said that the 13MB file was too big, and that 100 MB is the maximum file size. I am under the impression that 13 IS actually less than 100.
If anyone can tell me how to upload a photo or a video, I would be grateful.
