David is a true master and an honest person. He rescued my century-old grandfather clock from a bad…read moresituation and made it like new.
I hired David to fix my antique grandfather clock which had been left with a number of issues as a result of poor work done by another clockmaker. When I called around to find someone to fix it, some said they don't do house calls, while one candidly told me that they would "stay away" from my clock as it had evidently been "mistreated" by the other clockmaker.
So you can imagine how discouraged I was feeling when I called David.
David did not hesitate for a moment when I told him the situation over the phone. He said he would gladly take a look and was optimistic that we could fix the issues.
He arrived on time, carrying three carefully organized boxes of tools, which, he told me over the course of the afternoon, he had selected after decades of work in the field. "Some people see me carry two of the same tool and ask, why do you have two?" He told me, as he picked up a grappling tool. "Because one is lighter and the other is stronger." In the field, he said, the goal is to solve problems using the tools available. It's important to bring the right assortment and to be resourceful, since going back to the shop isn't an option.
I listed the problems: the clock was failing to sound the "8 bells" chime and would get stuck; one of the chime notes wouldn't sound at all; the moon phase dial wasn't calibrated; and, most confoundingly, the clock would sometimes have a rogue "stuttering" strike on the hour while the chimes were still playing. He quoted a reasonable price to address these issues.
He worked on the clock for several hours, explaining in great detail everything that he was doing whenever I asked. As an aspiring hobbyist myself, I asked a lot of questions. David blew me away with his theoretical and practical expertise, and his generosity in sharing the tricks of his trade. He never hesitated to involve me if I wanted to be involved, and to answer all of my questions throroughly --- a true mark of confidence. After a while, I was getting tired and hungry. When I asked if he'd like to take a break and have some lemon loaf cake that I had set out, he replied, "I'll enjoy loaf cake when this clock is working!" I really appreciated his resolve, especially after all that this clock (and I) had been through, at a moment when I wasn't even sure that the clock could be restored.
Over the course of the afternoon, he identified several problems in addition to the ones I'd pointed out. The leather pads for the chime hammers were worn, creating a sharp and metallic tone (he replaced them, after demonstrating the improvement). The movement as a whole was "thirsty" and needed oil (he lubricated all the moving parts). One of the chime hammers had slipped off its restraint (restored). And regarding the "stuttering" strike, the strike train was being prematurely released for the duration of a single strike, due to a pad slipping out of place (he made the adjustments to fix it). This was not an easy thing to spot, and was the greatest source of my worry. But the malfunction didn't evade David's careful eye, and it didn't take him long to fix it.
At this point, I mentioned how I had noticed that the pendulum was slightly out of beat --- slight enough that most people wouldn't notice, but I'm OCD about things like that and it bothered me. David listened carefully and then said that the issue was minor enough that clockmakers consider it to be "in beat," and that the clock wouldn't stop as a result of it, but he still adjusted the pendulum until we both listened together and agreed that it was perfect.
We enjoyed the well-earned lemon loaf cake at last, while the clock presided over the gathering, proudly tick-tocking and chiming away.
My century-old clock is now chiming the 8 bells chime on the quarter hour, sounding warm and proud and joyful. It strikes precisely and authoritatively on the hour, after the chimes have played their full melody. The moon phase dial is accurate. The clock is in beat, on time, and fully restored. David brought youth and energy back to this old grandfather clock.
A master of his craft, and a true professional. Don't hesitate: hire David.