Cuckoo Clock Parts

Cuckoo clocks are whimsical and fun for everybody, and are made up of intricate cuckoo clock parts.  A cuckoo clock is typically pendulum driven and strikes the hours (and in some cases, the half-hours) using small bellows and pipes that imitate the call of the Common Cuckoo bird, in addition to striking a wire gong.  Today's cuckoo clocks are almost always weight-driven, though a few are spring-driven.  The weights are made of cast iron in a pine cone shape and the cuckoo sound is created by two tiny pipes in the clock, with bellows attached to their tops.  The clock's movement activates the bellows to send a puff of air into each pipe alternately when the clock strikes.

Cuckoo clocks are typically produced in two styles--the traditional style is usually a wooden case decorated with carved leaves and animals.  Some traditional style cuckoo clocks feature a music box and dancing figures as well.  The chalet style clock depicts typical houses in either the Black Forest, Switzerland or Bavaria areas.  Along with the common cuckoo bird, this style of clock may also display others types of animated figures, such as woodcutters, moving beer drinkers and turning water wheels. 

In recent years, quartz battery-powered cuckoo clocks have been made available.  These do not have cuckoo bellows.  As on mechanical cuckoo clocks, the cuckoo bird emerges from its enclosure and moves up and down.  On some quartz clocks it also flap its wings as it calls, but instead of the call being reproduced by bellows, the call is a digital recording of a cuckoo calling in the wild.  

Many cuckoo clocks are made with wooden parts, such as the hands of the clock, the dial and, of course, the bird and any other figures or decorations.  The replacement and/or repair of these and other parts of the cuckoo clock must be handled carefully and by a professional.  Take your cuckoo clock to a qualified clock repair person who is not only skilled, but who also knows where and how to locate the appropriate cuckoo clock parts to keep your cuckoo clock in top-notch running condition.