Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1879-04-17
A Monster clock.

Concerning the great clock in Palace
Yard, Westminster, England, writer
in All the Year Round says: The four dials |
facing the four points of the compass, are |
each so large that there are but few rooms |
in London that would contain one of them |
on the floor. They are more than twenty
two feet in diameter the framework, fig
ures and divisions are of iroE, and the
space filled with opalescent glass. The
figures are two feet high, and the min
ute marks nearly twelve inches apart
little as we may think it when looking up
| from the palace park. The minute hand,
with its counter-weight and central boss,
is about two hundred weight. This, how
ever is little more than one-third as much
as the original hand designed by Sir Chas.
Barry, which was so intricate, so full of
angles and quirks, that they interfered
with the going of the clock. The min
ute hand is for the most part flattened
copper tube, and is eleven feet long with
out the counter weight. During heavy.
snow-storm few weeks ago, the mixture
| of snow and rain that fell on it pressed so
heavily on it as to stop the going. The
hands of the four dials are, it is said, the
largest in the swOrld, except those of
the Mechlin clock, which are, however,
i only hour hands, not comprising those
/ which mark the minutes. Large clock
hands, of course, require the descent of
heavy weights to set them going. Those
at Westminster are indeed heavy. No
less thanla depth Of 40 feet in the clock
tower is allotted for the descent of the
weights. Going-weights and striking
weights together, they require 1000 turns
Of doubly manned winchhandle to wind
, up. Sir Edmund said to the Horologists
: Various suggestions were made by inge-
hious people for dispensing with manual
labor for winding: steam, water, the ris'
= Of the tide, and other things even NOR,
: unlikely were recommended. My answel
was that the winding and care of tn
; clock would cost, perhaps, less than tn
J, interest on the automatic machinery o
e the steam engine; that any such machine
s ry would be liable to get out of order
4 and would, of course require a man t
f attend to it, however automatic it Nigh
E profess to be. Therefore, as 1 always pre-
s fer simple to complicated things, prefe
. to have the winding done in the oId-fash
e ioned way, running no risk of failure.
IS got over the difficulty of the maintaining
s power by directing the man to sto
+ winding about a minute before each hou
It and quarter. AS there are weights t.
a set the noble clock going, so there mus
t be pendulum to regulate the motto
Is when once produced, and it is a pendu
: lum, in good sooth. 1t weighs nearly 7C
l. pounds, is about Is feet long to the cente
1t Of oscillation, and Is feet total length
t The rod which holds it consists of pei
te forated iron tube inside one of zinc. Fac
beat of the pendulum has to regulate tn
in motion of something like ton and ha
L. of metal, IN the form of hands. counte
weights and clock machinery, and yet
n delicately is it suspended by slip
RS spring steel that one single ounce placs
he upon it at particular spot would affe
ly the regular motion.