Clock Tips

When deciding on a clock for your kitchen, it is important to understand the conditions and requirements that this piece should fulfill. The kitchen is, in essence, a utilitarian room. It is designed to be an area which makes the work of the cook easier and more effective. However the kitchen also serves a dual purpose, as a center of social interactions between different groups. Many people are drawn to the warmth, good smells, and tasty treats of the kitchen, making it a natural setting for gathering together. It is these two purposes that you have to consider when deciding on the appropriate wall clock to use in this setting.

UTILITARIAN CONSIDERATIONS
Counter space is important in a kitchen. It is the place where chopping, stirring, and setting out your ingredients occurs. As such you dont have room for desk or floor clocks in the kitchen, and you may want to decide early on to go with a wall clock as the piece you use for the rooms design.
Designing cuisine is an art that utilizes the fourth dimension of time. If you do not pay attention to when things occur; how long to cook an item, when to add a special ingredient; you will find it basically impossible to produce quality dishes. While most ovens have timers, a wall clock with an additional alarm would allow you to time two different things at once. You can set the wall clock to go off when the soup on the burner is ready, and leave the oven timer to determine when the roasting chicken is ready.
At the very least you will want a seconds hand on this clock. Occasionally you have to do preparations that require small amounts of time, such as when boiling an egg. For occasions such as this, the convenience of a seconds hand readily available on the wall will be a welcome perk in your kitchen.

DECORATIVE CONSIDERATIONS
The wall clock you choose should fit seamlessly into the design and color scheme that already exists in your kitchen. Work with the structures that are permanent to the room, allowing the clock to act more like an accent to these designs rather then as a center piece.
The colors of a Kitchens dcor are determined by several factors. Due to the function of the kitchen, the internal structures, such a counters, walls, and floors, will probably rely heavily on stone, wood, or ceramic, as these materials are resistant to stains and are highly durable. Large equipment such as ovens, sinks, and microwaves are generally made from metal, but can be painted almost any color.
The other major color source for the kitchens colors will come from its utensils. These can include spoons, bowls, knives, cutting boards, and the rest of the repertoire of tools that a chef may use. The colors of these items will often be basic wood or steal, although they can also come in almost any color. Even though their location is semi permanent, they act as natural decorations and have an enormouse impact on the feel of the room.
If your kitchen is designed using natural materials it should be easy to find a wall clock made in the same or complimentary materials. Stone clocks come in a wide variety of colors and can be made from almost any kind of stone, including ceramics. Steal and metal colored clocks are also widely available, and can range from simple round to artistically soldered works.
Wooden clocks can match cabinets, tables, and chairs, but you have to be careful with the kind of wood used. Certain woods will warp under extreme heat such as can be created in the kitchen. Wood is also an easy material to stain, and a pop of pasta sauce flying out of the [pot in the wrong way can destroy an otherwise elegant dcor item. For this reason getting a faux wood or plastic wall clock may be a better decision to make.
If you can manage to balance creativity with utilitarian design, you can make a truly unique statement in your kitchen using something as simple as a wall clock. Your local yellow pages should be able to direct you to some good resources if you want to go to an actual clock store, and online there are hundreds of sites with a wide variety of clocks available. For starters you may want to try http://decorative-wall-clocks.com

About the Author

Joey Lewitin is an author, artist, and designer of unique stone furnishings and home dcor. The original designs of him and others can be seen at the site http://pebblez.com

Written By: Joey Lewitin

A grandfather clock lends an aura of elegance to any room. If you’ve bought one but are not sure how to set it up so that looks and works at its best, here are several quick tips to help you out. * A grandfather clock should always stand on a level surface. This sounds elementary, but failure to ensure this can affect its functioning adversely.

When setting it against the wall, sometimes you’ll find that the carpet is thicker towards the wall because of grip rods. Or perhaps there’s a skirting board where the floor meets the wall and so you don’t have a level surface.

If the case leans a little in any direction, compensate for it by using pieces of wood, carpeting or other material so that it stands vertically.

You can even screw a long case clock to the wall, provided it stands upright and doesn’t lean backwards.

* When fastening the pendulum, remember that most pendulums are not uniform — they have distinct front and back sides. The front of the pendulum is usually the flat side of the bob. It’s the side that’s highly polished.

The pendulum should hang free from all sides of the case. If it touches the backboard or makes a scratching noise, it may mean that the case is leaning backwards. You’ll need to compensate for it.

* Most grandfather clocks are weight driven rather than spring driven. After you hang the weights in the clock, ensure that they stand free of the pendulum at all times. They should not touch the pendulum or any part of the casing as they fall.

* Once everything is in place and the clock is wound up, start the pendulum swinging. Listen carefully for a steady tick-tock sound. The sound should be regular and evenly spaced.

If the tick-tock is not regular, you have some adjustments to do. The case may be leaning a bit in one direction or another. Use pieces of wood or carpet pieces to make adjustments. Keep testing until you get a steady tick-tock sound.

It may take a bit of experimentation to find the right direction to lean the case in and to figure out the amount by which it should be adjusted.

* When moving the hands of grandfather clocks to set the time, don’t move them backwards more than a few minutes. And never move them backwards past the number twelve.

You can safely move the hands forward. When moving the hands past the number twelve, wait until the clock has finished striking the hour before moving on.

* Some grandfather clocks come with moon phase and / or day count discs. When you adjust these discs, wait until they are unmeshed from the clockwork mechanism. Usually, they are meshed with the clockwork between 5 pm and 7 pm or between 11 pm and 1 pm. So avoid adjusting the moon phase and day count at these times.

Your clock may work a bit differently, so experiment to find out when the discs are unmeshed from the rest of the mechanism before making adjustments.

* As your long case clock runs for several days, you may find that it is gaining or losing time. To set this right, you need to alter the length of the pendulum.

To slow down the clock, increase the length of the pendulum. Usually, you’ll find a nut at the end of the pendulum bob. When you turn the nut downwards, the bob will move downwards thus increasing the pendulum length. Move the nut upwards to make the clock go faster.

These simple tips should help you set up your grandfather clock correctly. If necessary, get help from the store you purchased the clock from. Enjoy the look of elegance and grandeur a grandfather clock adds to your home!

About the Author

Peter Strides is a connoisseur of clocks. He has written on long case clocks, the history of pendulum clocks, details on how grandfather clocks work and more.

Written By: Peter Strides