The sun., 1880-12-12
TIE CLOCK MIN.
How Old TrinIty's, st. Pauvs. ST. Johns, md
st, Georges Clocks are Wound.

The same man has wound the big clocks
in the towers OF Trinity. st. Paul's. ST. Johns.
and st. Georges churches for the past eight
years. He is beyond the middle age. but in Wig
orous health. An iron-Gray beard flows down
to the middle OF his vest. and kindly blue eyes
look at you from under his heavy eyebrows.
He is William S. Sperry OF 25 Murray street.
There have been as great improvements made
in church or tower clocks in tho past few
years as you have noticed in chamber
clocks" ho said yesterday to a Sun re-
porter. There's the old Trinity clock-it
keeps good time when it does go. but
in cold. damp weather it is liable to stop. That
is because the whole steeple and the clock itsef
sweat. Why. on damp day. when the air is
chilly, you can saturnte u sponge from tho IRON
work on the clock. OF course, the machinery
was not intended to be subjected to n test like
When 1t is in good running order, though, it
will not run ten seconds out OF the way in
watch. Well. It's a good deal Of a machine
that fills steeple from one side to the other"
Is it hard work to wind the big clocks?"
Well. 1t is not SO hard as 1t s tedious. re-
piled Mr.. Sperry. You can see me do 1t II you
want TO-. i wind each of the clocks once week.
to the clock, The machinery in Trinity Church
steeple is about 200 feet from The pavement and
would rather wind the clock than 20 up and
down the stairs. You young fellows can get UP
and down stairs easier than can now.
The Trinity clock was placed in the steeple
IN lotO ny JHIlcS hOHeis' ~ lOoA wv uIeu W
wind it. Now do 1t alone. Oh. no; it's not be-
cause can do more than two men can. The
machinery has been changed. Formerly it was
wound by Il single back genr. but not very
long ago 1t was fitted with double back gear.
Oi course II takes longer TO " ind 1t now than 1t
weights OF | 500 pounds each TO height OF over
fifty feet. One weight is for the chimes and the
other two are for the clock. The crank, which
answers - the key TO your watch. is about
twenty inches long. and when turn ii around
| make a sweep OF thirty inches. It's 60 d
| Inn ariA N "a IrF Al hn
machine has II ratchet, SO that can stop and
rest when | want to. The crank has to be turned
700 times to turn the barrel twenty one times.
Around the barrel is wound the wire rope that
holds the 800 pound weight. The weight is
simply n box with pieces OF iron in il. That s
very old fashioned. Now we nave iron weights
SO moulded that they can be added to or sub
tracted from. and the weight can be graded to a
nicely A new wire rope was put 10 the CHI ines
weight the other day The rope is what is called
able wire than that which supports these store
elevators. This rope is $50 feet long and three
| quarters OF an inch thick. 1t takes me an hour
| and half to wind up tho clock.
| ' Tho oldest clock in the city" continued tho
clock man, = 10 in st. Paul,s steeple John
| escape wheel by constant use was worn thin
| and turned over backward by tho ratchet. OF
| course the clock stopped. / patched 1t up. and
| I runs as well as ever This clock has single
| hour. 1t has two weights of 1000 pounds each.
| ST. Johns clock was put in the tower in 1912.
| l wind II in less than nm hour. st. Georges
| clock Ia modern. l wind 1t in fifteen minutes.
| Once a week / examine each clock and use a
whole e. bottle bot OF porpp1sso M pI In keeping the
extracted from tho jaw OF the porDoise. and is
l expensive"