Field Suitcase Workshop F102 – The French-Style Clock Movement
with Gary Combs

This Field Suitcase Workshop F102 will focus on French time and strike clocks with two spring barrels and a rack-and-snail strike mechanism. The workshop covers the hands-on procedures necessary to repair a two-spring barrel clock. Different rack-and-snail designs will be studied, repaired, and adjusted to help participants gain confidence with this type of strike train.

Participants may bring a second French movement for repair that is a time and strike barrel clock with a count wheel to repair after the rack-and-snail movement has been completed. The clocks must have pendulums; floating balance-type escapements are not permitted. 

Movements with known issues like broken mainsprings, internal teeth damage, or damaged pivots are not candidate projects for this workshop. The movement must be complete without any missing internal or external parts.

Participants will accomplish the following:

·         Discuss the operation of a rack-and-snail strike train

·         Study the clocks and understand the strike operation

·         Document the movement before disassembly

·         Disassemble and clean the movement 

·         Remove and clean the mainsprings from the spring barrels

·         Polish the spring barrel arbors

·         Install mainsprings in the spring barrels

·         Repair the movement components to include bushings and pivot polishing

·        Review lubrication methods and properly lubricate the movement

·        Assemble the front and back plate components for a rack-and-snail strike train

·      Run the clock on a test stand and set the clock in beat

    Student tool lists for this course may be found online at https://pubs.nawcc.org/images/stories/fsw/FSW_Student_Clock_tools.pdf.

Note: All specialized clock repair tools and supplies will be onsite for participants’ use (cleaner, solutions, mainspring winder, containment sleeves, bushing machine and bushings, lathe, pivot polishers, etc.).

For all inquiries, please email Gary Combs at gary.combs@cox.net

Instructor: Gary Combs
Enrollment: Limited to 5 Participants
Price for NAWCC Members: $850.00
Price for Non-Members:  $975.00
Date: March 5-7, 2026
Time: 8:00AM – 5:00PM