Welcome to PILLING Belfries and how to maintain them Towers and Belfries Committee

1. Welcome to PILLING Belfries and how to maintain them Towers and Belfries Committee The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers May 2018

2. Part one: the Tower

3. Are the ringing room and bell chamber doors lockable? • Are ringing room lights switched in room? If not, is warning light fitted? • Are stairs safe and well lit, with handrope on central newel? • Are there notices warning of persons in bell chamber? • Can you feel movement in any tower cracks? • Is water entering through roof or windows? • Is bird wire secure? • Are any sound control shutters accurately fitted? • Is the tower adequately lit, including emergency lights? • Is there a fire extinguisher and a fire exit plan? • Are the floors clean and safe?

4. Part two: Wooden frames & foundation beams

5. Is the woodwork clear of debris? • Are there any signs of decay in the timber? • Is the frame secured to the foundation beams? • Have any wedges been put between the frame and tower walls? • Are there signs of movement of the foundation beams or frame? • Are all bolts checked for tightness? • Is ironwork well painted and are bolts and nuts free from rust?

7. …. but you may have a problem here ! Note the braced king post

8. Sound timber? But a screwdriver went right through! A good beam? But turn it over ……

9. ….. and not much left !!

10. Part three: Metal frames and foundation beams

11. Is all metalwork free from oil and debris? • Is all metalwork well painted and free from rust? • If there is rust, are there serious signs of weakening corrosion? • Are there signs of movement between the frame, foundation and tower walls? • Are all bolts tight? A composite ‘A’ frame needs particular attention

12. Part four: Bell headstocks and bearings

13. Are all bearings secure on their frame heads? • Are there signs of bearings leaking grease? • When each bell is rung, from a safe position can you: • hear any knocking or see any movement of a bearing? • hear any rumbling, that can indicate a worn ball race?

14. Are gudgeons tight on their headstocks? • Are gudgeons tight on their headstocks?

15. Is metalwork generally well painted and free from rust? • Do timber headstocks have any shakes or splits that could affect their strength? • Do timber headstocks have any beetle infestation? • If so, does it affect the tightness of fixings?

16. Are bells, wheels and all fittings tight on their headstocks?

17. Part five: Bells, clappers, chiming hammers

18. Are clapper staples independent or cast into the crowns of the bells? • If cast in, are there signs of cracking around them inside the bells? • ….or around the canons? • Is conversion gear on cast in staples of 1/4 turned bells tight? • If the staples are independent are they: • tight, with lock nuts or split pin security? • central, or are the bells odd-struck? • if odd-struck, can tapered washers or correcting gear be fitted?

19. correcting odd-struck bells with independent clapper staples

20. Do the clapper pivots have a grease reservoirs?… • …..or do older clapper assemblies have leather linings? • ……or do they have ‘lignum vitae’ bushes? • Is the clapper suspension point worn? • i.e. more than, say, 50-75mm side play on soundbow? • Are there flaking ‘flats’ on the clapper balls? • Have ‘buffered clapper’ inserts become worn or missing? • Do the clappers swing at 90 degrees to the line of the main bearings? • Have loose clappers worn grooves in the soundbows of the bells? • is this less than 10% or more than 15% of the bells’ thickness? • Are chiming hammers fitted and released properly? • Do clock hammers strike correctly, releasing clear of soundbows?

21. Tell-tale indentations from a loose or worn clapper bearing A chip-tuned bell that has been one eighth turned

22. Part six: Wheels, stays and sliders

23. Are wheels stays or wheel braces fitted? • Are wheels warped? • Are there rusting tongues or screws in the raves (wheel sidings)? • Are the wheel soles (flats) smooth, with no protruding screws or nails? • Are the garter holes and bobbins smooth and not grooved?

25. Are stays the correct size and length? • Is it worth adapting slider-bars to accept straight, instead of curved stays?

27. Are ‘Hastings’ stays accurately fitted, with freely pivoted dingles? • Are all stays properly secured, especially in hollow metal headstocks?

29. Are sliders securely pivoted, running freely and not binding on slider-bars? • Are sliders grooved over the edges of slider-bars? • Are the slider-bars’ upper surfaces aligned with the slope of the sliders? • Are the slider stops located correctly for the ‘set’ of each bell/ • i.e. the bells should not be too ‘light’ or ‘deep’ set

30. What does this tell you ?

31. Part seven: Pulleys, rope chutes, guides and bosses

32. Are pulleys free-running? • Are grease reservoirs fitted; do pulleys rattle? • Are timber pulleys warped ……. or are plastic pulleys grooved? • Are all pulley sheaves correctly aligned below the wheels? • Do rope chutes through floors transmit (or block) sound from bells correctly? • Are rope bosses or rope holes in floors: • correctly aligned below pulleys and wheels? • are they grooved? • are floor and ceiling bosses securely fixed? • Are rope guides and any ‘slap-boards’ secure?

33. Plastic pulleys can be susceptible to grooving …. Wooden pulleys less so

34. Part eight (final!): ropes, rope mats, floor coverings

35. Are ropes worn: • At garter holes? • Above or below sallies? • Are terylene top ends fitted? • Are any carpets or rope mats woollen? • If there are no mats, is the floor smooth?