Chime clapper play

[Carl S Zimmerman]

Not being a professional bell-hanger, I can't give an objective 
answer to David's question. However, a subjective answer is this: 
The amount of trouble that excess clapper play causes is directly 
related to the amount of mis-alignment between the nominal direction 
of travel of the clapper and the direction of pull by the 
transmission wire. (In fact, such mis-alignment can even _cause_ 
excess clapper play by putting an uneven stress on the clapper 
bearing, thus producing uneven wear of the bearing surfaces.) As 
long as the swing of the clapper and the pull of the transmission 
wire (or cable) are consistent, the movement of the clapper should be 
well-behaved in spite of any overall looseness in the bearing.

However, if the excess clapper play is due to uneven wear of the 
clapper bearing, such that the clapper no longer has a "preferred" 
direction of travel, then immediate rebushing is indicated.

If the clapper and transmission are out of alignment, but the 
looseness in the bearing is uniform, then turning the bell and/or 
shifting the transmission crank along the roller bar to achieve 
proper alignment should give satisfactory results. If so, then 
rebushing can be postponed.

_____
At 17:38 +0100 on 2002/08/25, David Bryant wrote:

>... Anyway, I've
>been busy trying to sort out a problem with our chime. Anyone know how
>much sideways play is permissible in a carillon-type clapper? I suspect
>that ours have too much - far too much in one case, and need rebushing.
>Difficult to see enough with the ringing bells set up immediately
>beneath!
>
>David