grandfather clock problem

[willofiam]

Hi guys, Bob, have you ever seen a black powdery sooty looking stuff in small piles under each barrel arbor in a grandfather clock?????? I was not able to get a good look at the works but peering thru the sides of this non running clock there were small piles of this stuff, it seemed mostly dry, it is a cable weight driven works with some rather large weights, its age I am not sure but I think they said and from what I saw it has to be within the last 60 years. I was picking up another clock from these guys and they showed me this and are wondering what it could be. It didnt make much sense to me and I was unable to give a good answer. We do know other bushings a pretty worn. For me it is a near future pick up and refurbish.

[Bob Tascione]

Hi William,
My guess would be graphite grease that's dried out and gone to powder.
Bob

[willofiam]

Thank you Bob

[Arutha]

You can buy graphite powder, I used it on the apperture blades of an olympus trip camera and locksmiths use it too. I have been wondering about using graphite powder on mainsprings but am assuming as nobody else does there is a good reason not to?

[Bob Tascione]

Hi Paul,

The graphite grease is used quite a bit in tall case clock movements like Hershede etc. but can dry out over time and pile up like what William is describing.

My feeling as to why the powder isn't used for mainsprings would be that springs need a lubricant that will spread over the entire surface and stay put where powder might eventually end up at the bottom of the mainspring barrel. That's just a guess though so could be wrong.

Enjoy!
Bob

[Arutha]

Yes, I think you might be right on that. The never ending search for the perfect lubricant