I know that knowledge of the Ampichron clock is scant, but I thought
I would try tossing a question out to this vast audience.  In my shop
now is one of these clock movements.  It is the second time this clock
has been in my possession as I worked on it 30 years ago.  This time,
the electric Telechron rotor had to be rebuilt.  While everything
functions normally now, there is one strong spring that creates
problems.

The problem spring is in use only when the delayed start function is
used.  In this mode, the user can set the piano to come on at a future
time up to 10 hours.  The spring controls the cam follower in that
mechanism.  This spring is so strong that the cam follower is quite
difficult to move.  The user must turn the delay selector to the chosen
time and by so doing, a cam must raise the follower against the strong
spring.  The force is almost enough to damage the control shaft that
the user must turn.

My question to the group is has anyone else dealt with this problem?
I am seriously considering weakening the spring by removing a few
turns.  If anyone else has one of the clocks, I would like to discuss
the strength of the spring and how it can be measured.

As an aside, while the Ampichron is really a fun gadget, its two
mercury switches are in the fore-aft plane of the drawer, which
typically does droop just a bit when open.  And of course drawer
opening and closing causes the mercury to slosh back and forth in its
plane of operation.  One would have thought this unit would have been
designed with the switches in the left-right plane.  It probably didn't
matter in 1932 when the owner spent $5,000 for a Mason & Hamlin that
could second as a grandfather clock, with different tunes each hour.
The concept was wonderful, and who cared!

Bob Taylor