Measuring the bell swing times

The first job tonight was to measure the swing times of each bell. To do this I used one of the Oddstruckness Meters I make.

This shines a light at a reflective tape on the wheel, and when the bell is swung gently from side to side, the meter measures the swing each way, and then adds them together to display the period of swing.

 The figures for each bell are then entered into a spreadsheet which produces the above graph. The blue line is the raw data, and the black line is a 2nd order polynomial which helps analyise the results.

From this, it is possible to see that the bells 1, 3 and 6 need slowing down, and this will be done with counterbalance weights which will be bolted to the spokes at the top of the wheel.

It is possible, but much harder to speed 2 and 4 up as there are no spokes in a suitable place for mounting any weights.

This will be an iterative process to get the line as smooth as possible.

The other job was to install a temporary rope spider to hold the ropes up out of the way. This will be replaced at some point with a bespoke one made by my Nephew who is studying to be a blacksmith.