Fitting headstocks

The two largest bells have been reunited with their refurbished headstocks.

This is the seventh bell which is still being held in its pit by 4 long 16mm diameter bolts and a steel grillage made out of second hand steel salvaged from the 1993 augmentation at Malvern Link. The bell was moved up to the correct height using the nuts and without the need for any overhead beams or lifting gear.

And this is the tenor which is sitting on steel box section on top of the frame. It now needs lowering into the frame.

Headstocks

We've been plodding on bit by bit over the last few weeks. Firstly, there are now 8 ropes hanging in the ringing chamber, and they form quite a good circle.

The refurbished headstocks for bells 3-8 were delivered to the bottom of the tower a week or so ago, and tonight's job was to get them up the tower. The back two required the use of chain blocks, but 3-6 were light enough (just) to go up on a rope and pulley.

 

They are now sitting on planks in the belfry ready for the bed plates for the bearings to sit on. These bed plates will allow bells 4-8 to be hung.

6 ropes

There are now 6 ropes hanging in the ringing chamber, but only the treble (the one on the right) has got a bell on it!

Upstairs, things are progressing steadily but slowly. We are stiffening the 1911 frame now that it has to carry 2 bells instead of one. This will require a small concrete pad to take the extra weight.

More progress

The treble is pretty much finished now. The new slider arrangement works well and will need a small amount of adjusting to get the bell a bit lighter set.

Here are some closeups.

 

 Set at backstroke.

And at handstroke.

All that needs doing is to take accurate measurements of the clapper timing and make any adjustments to eliminate any oddstruckness. This will be done when all the other bells have been finished so that the timings can be correct for the whole ring, not just for one bell.

The other job partially finished is to put galebreaker over the tower windows. This will prevent any more rain from blowing in, potentially causing corrosion of any metal parts. It will also reduce the risk of rot in the timbers. Fortunately, the timber is generally sound internally, even though it is soft in some places on the exterior.

Treble flapper board

This is the flapper board for the treble. It is needed as the rope is drawn across to fall in the right place in the ringing room to produce a good rope circle.

There are pulleys at the top and the bottom and the boarding simply prevents the rope from sagging when not under tension, then vibrating when a force is applied. This vibration can be felt when ringing and it can be very off putting to the ringer.

Having tried it, the bell feels much easier to ring than without the board.

The stay has now been shortened, and the new slider mechanism will be made in wood, not steel. Hopefully this will be ready to install in the next week or so. This will mean that the bell is completely finished - one down, seven to go!

Treble stay and slider

 The treble stay and slider arrangement has been the source of a bit of head scratching. The original idea was to use a special type of slider pivoted just below the bearings called a pendulum slider. This type of slider can work well in tight spaces, but sometimes it bounces against the stay and the vibrations felt on the rope.

After a recent visit by Matthew Higby to check on progress, the idea came up to use a version of the traditional "peg and latchet" type as here at SS Philip and James in Leckhampton.

After taking a few measurements I fabricated a trial version using some scraps of wood.  This was fitted tonight and with the bell silenced using at old bicycle inner tube, and the bell was raised to test it out. Fortunately, all seems to work well.

The treble set at backstroke.

and at handstroke.

The stay is a bit long, and will be trimmed to length. The slider will be remade properly using steel plates and it will have adjustments to make sure that the bell is not to light or deep set.

Rope guide finished

The ringing room is pretty much finished now, apart from painting the modified rope guide.

It produces quite a good circle and where possible, makes use of existing holes and gaps between the beams. It looks anticlockwise from below!

Above this, we are now pretty much ready for the return of headstocks.

This is the 7th bell sitting where we left it a while ago sitting on a temporary steel grillage. The other bells are sitting on the bell frame.