How To Repair A Grandfather Clock Moon Dial

Setting Your Moon Dial On Grandfather Clocks

Posted on September 29, 2010 | Past Customers | 38 responses

SETTING YOUR MOON Punch

Grandfather Clocks with Moon Phase

The moon punch is designed to testify the shape of the moon as it appears in the sky, the number alongside it being the lunar date. The numbers on the dial are of the Lunar Agenda and NOT the calendar engagement. A lunar month has consistently 20-nine and a half days in every month and these are usually lettered in Arabic (English) numerals. The Full Moon always occurs on the 15th twenty-four hour period of the Lunar Calendar. If it were a total moon today, the image of the moon on the dial would be centered below the 15 on the dial. In that location are two moons on the dial and it makes no divergence which ane is under the 15. Grandfather clock moon dials consist of a round disk displaying ii pictures of the moon. A one-half rotation of the disk occurs every 29.5 days which is one lunar cycle.

If you have a  Grandfather Clock with moon phase,  follow these instructions. To set moon dial, apply slight pressure with your fingers to the front of the moon dial. Rotate the moon punch Clockwise until the moon is directly below the number xv on the dial. (Come across figure five).

Traditional Moon Dial on a Grandfather Clock

If the moon dial will not rotate, wait 6 hours and try once more. Never force the moon dial as information technology should move easily. Information technology may exist on the 3-hr cycle where information technology is moving the punch…wait a few hours and you lot should be able to easily move the moon phase dial.
1) Using an almanac, lunar calendar or the nautical chart below to determine the date of the last full moon.
ii) Position the moon dial so the moon is under the 15 on the dial.
three) Count the number of days past the final full moon on a agenda.
four) Turn the moon dial Clockwise one click for each of the numbers of days past the last full moon.

The moon dial is now set and will indicate the proper moon phases every bit long as the Grandfather Clock operates continuously.

Example:
Let'south pretend today is the 20th of any month.
Your almanac or lunar calendar says the total moon occurs on the 25 of this month.
(this ways the full moon is 5 days away..right?)
Ready your moon dial on your Gramps Clock so the moon is under the 10 on the dial which is 5 days before the 15th day the dial which is the full moon.
Done!

If the Grandfather Clock with moon phase punch stops for more than 24 hours, the moon dial volition besides stop and must exist reset when the Grandfather Clock has started again.

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THE STORY OF THE MOVING MOON DIAL
1 of the nigh frequently asked questions past new clock owners is, "What is the purpose of the moon dial and what practice the pictures or symbols stand for"? The question itself tells us just how much the world has changed. Today it is hard for us to realize just how important the ever-changing phases of the moon were in times gone past. In the late 17th century, the moon dial was added to most long instance clocks so that people could plan ahead for when the moon was total and travel at night was not so chancy. Clockmasters endeavored to simulate and approximate the appearance of the moon, in each of its phases, on the face of clocks.

The arched dial was first used in clocks at the get-go of the 18th century and presented a existent challenge to the makers of fine clocks. By approximately 1720, moving figures began to appear in this space, figures which moved back and forth with the swing of the pendulum. Among them were prancing deer, rocking ships, and Begetter Fourth dimension with his scythe. At the time, in that location was no applied value to this characteristic on the clock, it was washed simply to the please of those viewing the clock. After motion had been added in the curvation above the dial, the next stride was to reproduce the progress of the moon from phase to phase.

The proverbial "Man in the Moon" was used on well-nigh dials with a landscape and/or seascape on the other half of the circle. A rocking ship was a frequent symbol of the ocean, with a deer often representing the land. In our very modern world today, the moving moon department of the dial is more decorative than useful, but it is still a very sought later on characteristic. Many behavior concerning the moon and its effects have been recorded.

Among them:
• Sweep the house in the night of the moon and you will have neither moths nor spiders.
• Trees planted at full moon will carry fruit.
• Plant peas and potatoes in the increase of the moon.
• The number of snows during winter is indicated by the number of days from the showtime snow in fall to the following full moon.
• Shingle the roof in the subtract of the moon (between the full moon and the next new moon) so the shingles are put on when the
horns of the moon are turned down and volition not warp and rising up. The same holds true for boardwalks.

Posted in Clock Aid and Instructions

Source: https://www.theclockdepot.com/clocks-blog/setting-your-moon-dial-on-grandfather-clocks/

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