I have a hanging mantle clock made by Elgin that I gave to my dad, and after he passed it returned to me. It is a 30 day clock. It had been overwound, so I am very careful not to do that. My clock runs down at various times, and my question is: when I need to set it, will it hurt the clock to turn the hands counterclockwise before winding it?

I would advise the following:

One pick a time schedule that works. Wind it say the 1st and the 15th of every month. It doesn't have to wind down.

Don't turn it backwards within a chimed area. If that happens to be every 15 min, then don't hit the 15 min mark.

If you can stop it, then do so and set a timer or create a note when to start it.

At least, that's what I do for a mantle clock with a pendulum. I've always had either a cuko clock or a mantle clock to wind nearly all of my life. The cuko clock is a lot easier since you can tell when to wind it by the position of the cones.

Wow! Thank you, KeepItSimpleStupid. Great advice. My clock chimes on the hour and half hour, so you gave me exactly what I needed. It took me about 2 minutes to get everything going. It is difficult for me to get to the clock to wind it... a simple note or reminder from my PC on the 1st and 15th will keep it wound enough without overwinding!