St. Michael's Church Clock Tells Time by Sight and Sound

The clock on our beautiful church tower was not working for many years. The majority of our employees never new that the bells rang to tell the time. The clock came to our school after many years of service in the port of Hamburg. For old timers Schneller is not complete without its working clock and its bells that ring every fifteen minutes as a reminder of punctuality which is characteristic of the Schneller principals and traditions. The impossible task was assigned to Mr. Fadi Tebcharani, our trainer in the industrial mechanics department. The job needed a highly qualified professional who respected the amazing technology that this clock represents. Some of its parts where dismantled for over thirty years especially the mechanism of ringing the bells to tell the time. Other parts were over worn and needed refurbishing while others were  missing and needed to be made. It was an impossible task by all means that made some conclude that it is best to keep fingers off this job. Mr. Tebcharani started work by doing a full maintenance job for the church bells. Old cables were replaced with new ones. All ball-bearings were serviced or changed. He was assisted by staff and students of our electricity department who replaced all the over worn electrical parts. He then gave the clock a meticulous cleaning and lubrication job. The job, as Mr. Tebcharani, said was not only a physical exercise but also a mental one. He had to figure out how the mechanism works, which parts were damaged, and which parts are missing. He worked patiently for a very long period until he completed the job on Tuesday 4 September 2007. The clock is finally telling the time by sight and sound. We want to congratulate Mr. Tebcharani and thank him for this wonderful achievement that we are very proud of.

Click this link to download a sound file of the Schneller clock ringing at five o'clock