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The Clock Owners Guide to Winding

Clock types for key wind movements (the works)

A timepiece has one winding hole

A half-hour striking clock has two winding holes, as do ting-tang, or bim-bam, quarter hour striking clocks.

A quarter hour chiming, i.e. musical such as Westminster, St. Michael, Whittington etc, clock generally has three winding holes.

Alarm clocks may have one or two winders.

Winding key wind movements

Most clocks which are wound from the front, wind in a clockwise direction but there are many exceptions; for example, American striking clocks generally wind inwards to the centre of the dial.

Clocks which are wound from the back usually wind in an anticlockwise direction, but again, there are exceptions.

When in doubt, try winding the clock in both directions without using much force. If the key moves in one direction then that is the correct direction for winding. If it does not move in either direction then it is fully wound and there will be another reason for it not going.

Many French clocks have round movements which are clamped in position in the case by two screws at the back. This is not always a secure fixing and, when being wound, the movement can turn in the case putting the clock out of beat (see the page on setting up). To prevent this from happening, hold the bezel (the rim surrounding the dial) while winding.

Always use a well-fitting key and do not let it slip while winding as this can do extensive damage to the movement.

revised 18 Jan 96