I've had this clock in my family for over 20 years and now it just won't keep running. What could be the problem with it?

The most common reason for a clock to quit running after a long period of time is this. All mechanical clocks need fresh oil approximately every 3 to 4 years here in the dusty Southwest. Once a clock runs without lubrication it begins to wear itself out on all the friction surfaces. When the gears of the clock revolve without oil you get metal on metal wear. The steel shafts of the gears wear through the softer brass or bronze of the plates and eventually the gears are misaligned and the clock no longer keeps running. To remedy this we must disasemble and repair the wear damage, clean and re-oil the clock. 

2.

I've only had my clock about 5 years and now it won't keep chiming or striking and it's not running the full week that it used to. What is the problem?

If a clock is only a few years old or it's only been a few years since it's last overhaul then it may only need what we call a clock tune-up. This is much less costly and many times it's all a clock needs to run for many more years. We examine the movement to determine if there is any wear on the gears and plates and if not then we can usually remedy the problem with fresh oil and adjustments to the movement. It is always a good idea to have this done every 3 to 4 years on all mechanical clocks.