Jim Ebert, of Ebert’s Clock Sales and Service, has been repairing clocks for more than 30 years.

Photo: Pam Lifke

For more than 30 years, Ebert’s Clock Sales and Service in Norton has been repairing beloved antiques and modern-day timepieces. A former tool-and-die maker who can manufacture his own parts, if necessary, Ebert became fascinated with clocks as a teenager. Growing up in a 200-year-old house filled with antiques, Ebert began tinkering with broken clocks when he was a child.

“I fixed a few. I broke a few,” he said, adding he learned a lot.

Mostly self-taught, Ebert said he spent a lot of time “picking the brains” of older clock makers in the area as he learned his craft and has read nearly every book that’s been published on clock repair. Now, he said, when someone tells him what the clock’s doing, he knows just where to look to find the problem.

One of his most challenging jobs was an Eli Terry Pillar and Scroll clock from the early 1700s, he said. The clock, which had wooden gears, no longer worked. The clock’s owner had taken it to a couple of other shops that had been unable to repair it. Ebert said he carved new gears to replace the broken ones and rebuilt the clock so it kept time within half a minute a day.

Ebert repairs modern and antique wall clocks, mantle clocks, cuckoo clocks and electric-drive clocks in his shop. He also makes house calls to work on grandfather clocks, which often are too delicate or cumbersome to move to his shop. All repairs and parts he replaces have a one-year guarantee.

“I stand behind my work,” Ebert said. “Word-of-mouth is my business.”

Ebert also said it’s a good idea to maintain your clocks on a yearly basis to keep them working well. Ebert said he charges a nominal amount to oil and adjust a working clock.

Much of Ebert’s business comes from customer referrals, and he said he recently received a call from Angie’s List to congratulate him on getting such good feedback from the service’s users.

In addition to antique clocks, Ebert said he sells German-made Franz Hermle clocks at the lowest price in the area.

“They’re the Mercedes of the clocks world,” he added.

Ebert’s Clock Sales and Service is located at 3540 Weyrick Drive, near Brookside Country Club. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. To contact the shop, call (330) 825-7414.