Cuckoo Clock

[Jazzy]

My grandparents had one that hung in their kitchen. It was from soviet times, brown with a lot of forest related décor. The weights looked like pine cones. When I was little, they made it work every evening before I went to bed. I barely remember what the bird looked like, I just remember the feeling of something magical.

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Do you or someone you know have one?

 

[1689Dave]

My grandparents had one that hung in their kitchen. It was from soviet times, brown with a lot of forest related décor. The weights looked like pine cones. When I was little, they made it work every evening before I went to bed. I barely remember what the bird looked like, I just remember the feeling of something magical.

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Do you or someone you know have one?

I used to sell them. Made in the Black Forest in Germany. You should be able to find one on eBay or elsewhere online.

 

[Lamb]

My grandparents had one that hung in their kitchen. It was from soviet times, brown with a lot of forest related décor. The weights looked like pine cones. When I was little, they made it work every evening before I went to bed. I barely remember what the bird looked like, I just remember the feeling of something magical.

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Do you or someone you know have one?

That sounds similar to the one my dad has and I will inherit it when he passes away. I'm not sure why I was so obsessed with that cuckoo, but I loved it when I was growing up.

 

[Forgiven1]

I have my grandparents cuckoo which came from the Black Forest of Germany. A few years ago, when traveling in Germany, I purchased smaller ones for my daughter and daughter-in-law.

 

[tango]

My grandparents had one that hung in their kitchen. It was from soviet times, brown with a lot of forest related décor. The weights looked like pine cones. When I was little, they made it work every evening before I went to bed. I barely remember what the bird looked like, I just remember the feeling of something magical.

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Do you or someone you know have one?

I have one that belonged to my in-laws. It needs some work to get it going again, it's just a royal pain in the rear to disassemble the bellows mechanisms so I can get at the movement inside, and even more of a pain in the rear to reassemble it so the bird pops out and the bellows operate correctly.

I also have a box with the parts from probably another four cuckoo clocks, none of which is complete. Some time I planned to build my own, I just don't remember if I have working bellows to make the cuckoo sound when needed.

It can be hard to find someone who will work on a cuckoo clock, although having taken one apart and repaired it myself it's easy to see why.

 

[1689Dave]

I have one that belonged to my in-laws. It needs some work to get it going again, it's just a royal pain in the rear to disassemble the bellows mechanisms so I can get at the movement inside, and even more of a pain in the rear to reassemble it so the bird pops out and the bellows operate correctly.

I also have a box with the parts from probably another four cuckoo clocks, none of which is complete. Some time I planned to build my own, I just don't remember if I have working bellows to make the cuckoo sound when needed.

It can be hard to find someone who will work on a cuckoo clock, although having taken one apart and repaired it myself it's easy to see why.

The most important thing in getting a cuckoo clock to run is keeping it level using a level. Eyeballing it will not do.

 

[tango]

The most important thing in getting a cuckoo clock to run is keeping it level using a level. Eyeballing it will not do.

It also helps if the movement isn't gummed up

You're right though, they can be very temperamental if they aren't quite level. Some of them are more forgiving than others - the one we had would work if it was more or less level. Over time it stopped working - it turned out one of the pivot holes was worn and needed to be bushed. Since it's started acting up again my guess is that another one of the pivot holes is worn, it's just been in a box for years because I don't have space for it right now.