CUCKOO CLOCK FAQS: FROM HOW TO WIND TO MAINTENANCE AND MORE
Here, we’ll explore every question you’ve ever had about cuckoo clocks, including how to unbox and set up your cuckoo clock, how to troubleshoot and fix a cuckoo clock that isn’t working, and how to keep your new pride and joy in perfect condition. Remember, the only way to be sure you have an authentic Black Forest cuckoo clock is from the seal of quality and authenticity you'll see on all our products.
Browse our vast collection of authentic German cuckoo clocks here.
VIDEO 1: UNWRAPPING AND HANGING YOUR CUCKOO CLOCK
Unboxing your cuckoo clock is an exciting experience. The directions below will help you unwrap your clock and set it up properly.
First, be sure to open the package on the correct side. Then take out the manual and read it thoroughly. After the box is open, carefully take out the clock. When taking the clock out of its carton, hold it by the rooftop or clock base, not the front carvings. Depending on the type of cuckoo clock, you may need to remove additional parts. For example:
- Pendulum
- Weights
- Antlers/Bird
- Belltower
1) Cuckoo clock
2) Headpiece, if a carved clock:
A. with deer head and two horns, or
B. with bird
3) Pendulum
4) Two weights or three weights for a cuckoo clock with music
A-frame, Swiss House, or Mill styled cuckoo clocks do not have any headpieces as indicated under number 2) or 2a).
Before hanging your clock, open the back and remove the following:
The safety paper (5) — positioned in the coil wire on the back of the case
The transport safety device (6) — located on the cuckoo bellows
The back wall can then be replaced. Place the carved headpiece on the top of the clock if needed.
Important: Be careful not to bend any wire in the cuckoo clock.
HOW TO HANG A CUCKOO CLOCK
Be sure to choose the correct mounting material depending on the weight and size of your clock. Usually, you will need a good size screw inserted at an angle, anchored into a stud. We recommend you hang your clock approximately seven feet high in a windless spot.
Fix the nail to the wall, about seven feet from the floor or higher, sloping slightly and with 4/5 inch sticking out (11). Next, place the cuckoo clock into a correct vertical position close to the wall (10). Then open the wire bow that locks the door (7) (for clocks with music, there are two doors).
After hanging your clock on the wall, open the paper package on the bottom, which holds the chains for the drive mechanism. Remove the wire threaded through the chain links (8). Mind that the chains are not knotted. Hang the pendulum into the wire loops in the long hole at the bottom of the cuckoo clock’s body.
Next, carefully place the weights into the provided chain hooks (9). Depending on the clock, you’ll also need to open the latch in front of the cuckoo's door. If you bought a clock with a “turn off” switch for the sound, you need to ensure this is turned on. On some clocks, this switch is located on the side. Others have a black wire loop that hangs below. Push the pendulum once to the side, and your clock is fully operational.
Step back and take a look at your beautiful cuckoo clock. Make sure the clock is straight on the wall and is ticking proportionally in a rhythmic beat.
When setting the time, the longer hand (minute hand) can be moved across the half and full-hour marks without awaiting the strikes. Do not move the hour hand! If you want the clock to strike the full hour, move the minute hand slowly by five minutes before reaching the hour mark.
HOW TO ADJUST A CUCKOO CLOCK
If the cuckoo clock is running fast, remove the pendulum (3) and push the pendulum disc (usually a maple leaf) down a little away from the clock face. Replace the pendulum and see if the clock has slowed.
HOW TO WIND A CUCKOO CLOCK
You can wind your cuckoo clock by pulling the round ring on the end of the chain downward, raising the pine cone weight to the top of the clock. One chain winds the clock; the other chain winds the cuckoo bird mechanism, and the third winds the music movement for musical cuckoo clocks. When the pine cone weights reach the top, the cuckoo clock will operate for one day or eight days without rewinding.
Most cuckoo clocks have a “silent” option that allows you to turn off the cuckoo call and music. Find the lever on the side of the clock face or the bottom of the case. Put the lever in the “on” position if you want your clock to “cuckoo” and play music (on musical models). In the “silent” or “off” position, both the cuckoo call and the music are silenced. Avoid placing the lever on “silent” as the cuckoo is sounding; you may, however, move the lever to “on” at any time.
You may also want to read our blog on how to set a cuckoo clock.
CUCKOO CLOCK MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
VIDEO 2: HOW TO FIX A CUCKOO CLOCK
If your cuckoo clock is not running correctly — even though you have hung it on the wall according to the instructions in the manual — the most likely reason is it is not hanging straight.
Please listen closely to the swing of the pendulum. Check if it swings to the right in the same amount of time as it does to the left. If this is not the case, carefully adjust the clock's position on the wall until the tick-tock of the pendulum becomes regular and rhymic. Also, check if your clock is hanging straight to the eye. If it is not, but the tick-tock of the pendulum is regular, the pendulum could have been bent during the unwrapping process.
There is a small adjustment to the pendulum wire that will correct the problem. The pendulum wire is where the pendulum hangs, located in the long hold on the bottom of the body. If your clock hangs too much to the left, take a wide screwdriver and bend the pendulum wire slightly to the left. If the clock is hanging too much to the right visually — but the pendulum is ticking regularly — slightly bend the pendulum wire to the right.
Your cuckoo clock should now function faultlessly. If this is not the case, check to see if the hands are touching each other by turning the minute hand clockwise. If this is the case and they are touching, your clock will always stop working when the two hands meet. To fix the problem, simply push the smaller hour hand toward the clock face.
You can adjust the accuracy of the pendulum by sliding the pendulum leaf up and down. If your clock is slow, slide the bulb up a little. If your clock is fast, slide the bulb down.
VIDEO 3: HOW TO FIX A CUCKOO CLOCK WHEN THE CUCKOO CALL FAILS
If the cuckoo in your clock is not calling:
- Ensure the little switch in front of the door is turned to the side.
- You must unwrap the clock completely and correctly. The paper around the chains — and the security wire — should be removed and the weights mounted. Check to make sure you have removed the clips from both pipes (6) and the security paper from the coil wire (5).
- Make sure the pendulum is hanging freely.
- Position the bird-lifting wire underneath the cuckoo figurine.
- Make sure the wire lifting the bellows is attached correctly.
- If you have bought a clock with a turn-off switch for the sound, make sure it is turned on. On some clocks, this switch is located on the side. Others have a black wire loop that hangs below.
VIDEO 4: HOW TO FIX A CUCKOO CLOCK WHEN THE MUSIC FAILS
Remove the back of the clock's case to adjust the clockwork. If the music box continues playing automatically after the call of the cuckoo, there's a problem with the brass lever, stopping it from gripping the hole on the side of the clock walls correctly, which would stop the music. To see the music movement parts in more detail, click here.
Use a caliper to bend the brass lever so it can grip the hole and stop the music. If the release force on the brass lever is too large, then the clockwork cannot start the music. There's a white rubber stopper on the lever that you should push approximately 1/32nd of an inch downwards.
If the end of the wire that grips into the fan fly is bent, there are three possible results:
1. The wire does not release the fan fly after the cuckoo calls, so the music is not activated.2. The wire touches the fan fly, and the impact causes a chattering sound.
3. The wire does not hold the fan fly, and the music plays simultaneously with the cuckoo calls. The wire should then be bent into a position where it does not touch the fan fly while inactive but prevents the music box from turning before and while the cuckoo is calling.
If the music does not sound at all after the cuckoo’s call, then the double-wire may be loose. This means it's not attached to the arbor on the clockwork correctly. Tighten the attachment screw on the arbor.
If the music is still not playing, then the wire above the music box may be bent. Bend this wire until it is just over the brass lever while inactive.
VIDEO 5: WHAT TO DO WHEN THE HANDS OF THE CUCKOO CLOCK AND THE CUCKOO CALL DON'T MATCH
Check out the video above for step-by-step instructions on how to fix your cuckoo clock if you notice its hands and the cuckoo call don’t align.
VIDEO 6: WHAT TO DO WHEN THE MINUTE HAND OF A QUARTZ CUCKOO CLOCK AND THE CUCKOO CALL DON'T MATCH
Check out the video above for step-by-step instructions on how to fix your cuckoo clock if you notice its minute hand and the cuckoo call don’t align.
HOW DO I FIX THE CUCKOO CLOCK CHAINS?
If one chain is stuck and the weight can not be pulled up, pull the chain of the other weight so the weight is completely up. Then take off both weights and secure the chains together by putting the packing wire through the uppermost part of the chain, or tying them together, so it cannot come out of the gear.
Then turn the clock upside down, remove the back and look inside the housing. Take the gear for the fallen chain and attempt to wind the chain back on the gear. To get the gear to turn and pull the chain back through, pull the chain at one end and see if it turns. The chain gear will allow you to turn it in one direction, and the other direction will be blocked. Please check the direction the gear wheel should turn. If necessary, take the ring and hook it off the chain.
WHY DOES MY CUCKOO CLOCK PENDULUM STOP?
First of all, please check if the weights are pulled up. Then check that nothing interferes with the pendulum — could a light wind or breeze be responsible for stopping it? If that is the case, please place the clock in a different room.
Check if the cuckoo clock hangs straight by listening to its ticking sound. If you do not hear an even tic-tock on both sides, slightly push the pendulum to the side until the tic-tock sound is even and regular. You can listen to this better by putting the wooden stick to the bolt that holds the hands to your ear. Please also make sure the pendulum does not rub at the clock case. If so, put the clock in an upright position parallel to the wall.
Last but not least, please check if the wrapping material or any dust could be in the clock’s movement. Pull the chains completely up. Take off the weights, the pendulum, and the top part (if this applies). Then take the clock from the wall and gently shake it in different positions. Also, place it upside down. Be sure to hold the clock at the bottom panel on the roof and take care the clock does not fall. Then hang the clock back on the wall.
ALL ABOUT CUCKOO CLOCKS
WHAT IS A CUCKOO CLOCK?
A cuckoo clock is a wooden clock handmade in Germany with a chalet-style or ornately carved facade. Traditionally it uses precise weights and a pendulum to drive the inner clockwork along, with a “cuckoo” singing its tune to announce the strike of the hour. However, there are many variations of cuckoo clocks, so let’s find out more!
Curious about authentic German cuckoo clock designs? Check out our wide range here to see which would be the perfect addition to your home.
HOW DOES A MECHANICAL CUCKOO CLOCK WORK?
The cuckoo clock keeps time by the exact weights hanging on a chain, which turns the internal clockwork. The weights slowly drop until a set time when they are pulled back up to rewind the clock.
HOW DOES A QUARTZ CUCKOO CLOCK WORK?
Batteries power the quartz cuckoo clock, so the weights are only for decoration. The battery lasts for approximately one year, making the maintenance of a WHAT IS A 1 DAY CUCKOO CLOCK?
A 1 day cuckoo clock is a hand-wound mechanical cuckoo clock where the weights take 24 hours to reach the bottom. This means you must wind the clock and pull the weights up daily. An 8 day cuckoo clock is similar, except the weights take one week to reach the bottom. Therefore, the weights of an 8 day cuckoo clock need to be wound once a week. Still considering which cuckoo clock is right for you? Take a look at our comprehensive blog about the four types of cuckoo clocks available, which could help make your decision. Only one place makes authentic cuckoo clocks, and that’s the Black Forest in Germany. All cuckoo clock factories are in the Black Forest, around our town of Schoenwald. Why not look around the factory to get a feel for the historical techniques we keep alive? We are a proud member of the VDS Black Forest Clock Association — an organization that certifies authentic cuckoo clocks. Every mechanical cuckoo clock with this certificate is guaranteed to have been manufactured by experts in Germany’s Black Forest region, with the same mechanics and components used more than 300 years ago. Check out our certified German cuckoo clocks here. First of all, consider the movement. Do you prefer a mechanical cuckoo clock driven by the weights or a battery-operated quartz cuckoo clock? If you select a mechanical cuckoo clock, please decide if you prefer a 1 day cuckoo clock or an 8 day cuckoo clock. Please also ensure the clock comes with the VDS Black Forest Clock Association Certificate. This document certifies the authenticity and the origin of the clock. If you select a quartz cuckoo clock, the clock is also made in the Black Forest, Germany, as we only sell original cuckoo clocks from the Black Forest. The next step is to decide if you also like music. Then you have to decide which style you prefer. There are carved cuckoo clocks, chalet cuckoo clocks, and modern cuckoo clocks. Finally, choose the animation of the clock. Do you like some moving parts other than the cuckoo? The night shut-off is also worth thinking about, as this means the clock is automatically silent at night. Most mechanical cuckoo clocks have a manual night shut-off, but some cuckoo clocks in the upper price range have an automatic night shut-off. The quartz cuckoo clocks have an automatic night shut-off controlled through a brightness sensor. We are located in Schoenwald in the Black Forest, Germany, and you can buy a cuckoo clock directly in our online cuckoo clock shop. We will ship your clock to you well-packed, insured, and trackable worldwide. Explore our entire range of authentic German cuckoo clocks here. The cuckoo clock has a rich history, but it’s shrouded in mystery. To learn more about cuckoo clocks, where they came from, who invented them, and how they evolved, check out our blog post on the history of the cuckoo clock. Franz Ketterer invented the cuckoo clock in 1737 in our town Schoenwald in the Black Forest, Germany. There is still the Memorial of Franz Ketterer in Schoenwald, which still stands today. Find out more about who invented the cuckoo clock here. The cuckoo clock originates in our town Schoenwald in the Black Forest, Germany. Authentic German cuckoo clocks continue to be made here, using the same techniques used for centuries.WHAT IS AN 8 DAY CUCKOO CLOCK?
WHERE IS THE CUCKOO CLOCK FACTORY?
WHAT IS THE VDS BLACK FOREST CLOCK ASSOCIATION?
HOW DO I DECIDE WHAT TYPE OF CUCKOO CLOCK TO BUY?
WHERE CAN I BUY A CUCKOO CLOCK IN GERMANY?
WHERE WAS THE FIRST CUCKOO CLOCK INVENTED?
WHO INVENTED THE CUCKOO CLOCK?
WHERE DID THE FIRST CUCKOO CLOCKS ORIGINATE?
