Tom Scott discovers what he got wrong about pendulum clocks
A Cumbria workshop visit pairs an enormous Victorian mechanism with 3D-printed prototypes for traditional repairs.
Tom Scott
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Clocks are so much more interesting than I thought.
Things we can learn from the video
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- 2:22Keith introduces an Edward Dent clock mechanism made in 1844 for St Giles's Church in Camberwell.
- 5:40Pendulums regulate a clock's timing while receiving energy from its mechanism to overcome friction.
- 7:00Notches in a count wheel control how many times the clock strikes each hour.
- 12:40The workshop tests replacement components with 3D printing before manufacturing them in bronze or steel.
- 13:53Becca and Ted explain repairs to domestic clocks, including bracket clocks, regulators and longcase clocks.
- 16:30Keith demonstrates a pin-wheel escapement and a large barrel mechanism that operates bells.
A failed video plan sends Tom Scott to the Cumbria Clock Company, where a very large pendulum exposes a gap in his understanding. "I completely misunderstood how pendulum clocks work," he admits.
His only upload this week, "Clocks are so much more interesting than I thought.", turns that admission into a workshop tour with founder Keith and his team. An Edward Dent mechanism built for St Giles's Church in Camberwell provides the centerpiece. Its pendulum regulates the clock, but the mechanism must also keep giving it energy to overcome friction. As Keith puts it: "The pendulum times the clock, the clock pushes the pendulum."
There is something particularly satisfying about seeing old craftsmanship meet a practical modern shortcut. Keith's team uses 3D printing to test replacement components before making them in metal. Elsewhere, Becca and Ted work on domestic clocks, bringing the visit down from church-tower scale to mechanisms made for the home.
The upload has reached roughly 916,000 views and is the channel's most active video right now. Viewers are making time-related puns, comparing Scott's pendulum excitement to a Top Gear introduction, and sharing their own experiences of getting a grandfather clock running properly.
Across the catalog, the channel added about 3.2 million views over seven days, although its current daily viewing is around half its usual pace and subscribers slipped slightly over the week. The strawberry-picking robots at Wilkin & Sons remain active, followed by Tim Hunkin's unusual arcade machines at the Under the Pier Show. Mechanical ingenuity is giving Scott's England trip a rather coherent thread, whether it is trying to pick fruit, entertain visitors or keep a church clock striking.
Published on Trari
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What viewers say
The title "Tom gets excited about a pendulum" sounds like a top gear opening statement
@PX3USee it on YouTubeSo, who here now has "double three-legged gravity escapement" in their search history?
@HiddenWindshieldSee it on YouTubeGot a grandfather clock a few years ago and had to "debug" it (finally found out that it wasn't perfectly level and friction was slowing the pendulum down) but in order to do so I had to understand how the weights were used to maintain the pendulums momentum, and I was equally as delighted as Tom.
@vchalmelSee it on YouTube
3 more comments
13:30 I love the attitude: "We can't modernize that much, but I don't want to be Luddite".
@MySonBandSee it on YouTubeKeith seems like a genuine, interesting guy!
@thomasNL030See it on YouTubeThem: How nerdy do you want to get?
us: YES!@ekuL41See it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on Tom Scott right now
- Channel
- Tom Scott
- Subscribers
- 6,740,000 ▼ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 3,180,922
- Videos published this week
- 1
- Video published
- October 19, 2026
- Video views so far
- 916,298
- Views on its first day
- 650,449
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Here is how Tom Scott's channel and recent uploads performed this week.
💡 Test your knowledge
Who made the 1844 church clock mechanism Keith shows Tom?
Keith identifies the St Giles's Church mechanism as an Edward Dent clock made in 1844.