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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>When I was Norwich DAC Bells adviser (72-77) I did
an inspection of the bells, fittings and frame in the great detached
tower at Beccles at the invitation of the late Ralph Bickers who maintained
the bells in exemplary fashion. It was then a joy to behold. One of the few
cases where I had come across the Heywood Lubricators on the John Taylor plain
bearing housings being oiled up and used properly - I think that there were
sponges in the 'chimneys' in place of the original wicks. There was a little
thumping with some of the bells turning over, but nothing serious and I wrote:
"Although the gudgeons and bearings have had intensive use for nearly
seventy years, there is nothing to suggest that immediate replacement is
necessary: from the point of view of the 'go' of the bells there would be little
appreciable difference so long as the present level of maintenance
is upheld. At the same time it would be unwise to suggest that they will go
for another seventy years: certainly the bearing brasses will wear as they
become increasingly oval, placing added strain on the gudgeons with
consequent loosening. It may be as well to plan to renew these and other
frictional parts mentioned elsewhere in time for the centenary in the next
thirty years."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Quite a fair prophecy! I do hope that it's
possible to purchase new bearings and purpose-made housings compatible with
the existing drillings in the Taylor frame rather than commercially available
plummer blocks.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Good luck to Barry and his team.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>DLC</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial> </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jbpickup@WUIJE6-Y64SjbQ62ex9a1-5eXIi6E85U1U0lF7u7vy4cHttQKJZZ3Jodq6w35lkE3sImGxgz3G8m75AzRVUN1bk1.yahoo.invalid href="mailto:jbpickup@Q1ILEWO7D6XLTAUkNS16D6mZtvq4FKDXtIOX3Y6U1pZh3lSyn2I6oUBlxvRUfgH0F0TOFQfMU1j2RQJLfA.yahoo.invalid">Barry
Pickup</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com">bellhistorians@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, June 21, 2010 7:05 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: [Bell Historians] Ball
races</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN style="DISPLAY: none"> </SPAN>
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<TD vAlign=top>Thank you all for the interesting and helpful advice. The
fund-raising is in the earliest stages and this was just one of the
ideas put forward. I think the idea was to find some relation between
the actual cost of a bearing and the amount we could realistically ask
for per bearing. This would be a rough guess on what "the market" would
pay. We have actually asked for some quotes and the cost of the whole
job is what Steven Stanford and others have suggested. Unfortunately the
idea of a do-it-yourself job or any sort of voluntary input (apart from
fund-raising) is completely out of the question as the tower and
contents, including bells, are owned by the local District Council and
the job will have to be channelled through them. Their insurance would
not allow (and I don't think their officers would allow) the risk of
letting amateurs loose on a project like this. Thank you all again for
your help.<BR><BR>JBP<BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></P></DIV><!-- end group email --></BODY></HTML>