Clock Description
Traditionally, longcase clocks were made with two types of movement: eight-day and one-day (30-hour) movements. A weekly winding required for eight-day movement, while the 30-hour clock had to be wound daily, but this is less expensive clock. The eight-day clock often driven by two weights – one giving power to the pendulum while the other one striking mechanism which usually consisted of a bell or chimes. Such movements usually have two keyholes on either side of the dial to wind each one.
In contrast, the 30-hour clocks often had a single weight to drive both the timekeeping and striking mechanisms. Some 30-hour clocks were made with false keyholes, for some customers who want to brag to their guest that they can afford to buy a longcase clock.
All modern striking longcase clocks have eight-day movements. Most longcase clocks are cable-driven, which means the weights are suspended by cables. If the weight was connected directly to the cable, the load will cause rotation and untwist the cable stands, so the cable wraps around a pulley mounted to the top of each weight. The advantage of this arrangement doubles the running time allowed by a given weight drop.
Cable clock have a special crank or a key used to wound it, the clock’s face has a hole in it to insert the key and turning it for winding. Others, however, are chain-driven, meaning that the weights are suspended by chains that wrap around gears in the clock's mechanism, with the other end of the chain hanging down next to the weight. To wind a chain-driven longcase clock, one pulls on the end of each chain, lifting the weights until the weights come up to just under the clock's face.