[Bell Historians] Bearings

[Carl S Zimmerman]

Not having any direct experience with early English fittings, I 
cannot comment in detail on the article. But the subject certainly 
is of interest. I've noticed a similar pattern in the development of 
bearings used by American bellfounders in the 19th and early 20th c. 
Greatly simplified, it is as follows:
1) Cast iron bearing block, designed to be bolted to a horizontal 
timber forming the side of a bell pit (fabricated by a local 
woodworker); block has machined U-shaped slot, typically closed at 
the outer end.
2) U-shaped slot in the top of a cast iron A-frame (roughly 
equivalent to the center portion of a modern low-side frame), 
supplied by the bellfounder and usually pre-assembled at the foundry 
on a timber base.
For smaller bells, the slots on both of the above are open; for 
larger bells (typically a later development), there is usually some 
sort of hold-down over the top of the slot. Sometimes this is simply 
a safety strap and sometimes it is a matching cast iron block which 
completes a cylindrical "hole" for the gudgeon; in either case it is 
held down by a pair of bolts. (Remember that American bells were 
always "swing-chimed", never rung full circle.) The strap or block 
almost always had an oil hole on top, sometimes in the form of a 
well; sometimes Zerk fittings have been retrofitted to these holes 
for use with modern grease guns.
3) Roller assemblies substituted for open slots atop A-frames.
One variety used by a St.Louis foundry had a pair of wheels 
running in an oil box; the gudgeon rested atop/between the wheels. 
The oil box was integral to the A-frame. Curiously, the axles of the 
two wheels were of smaller diameter than the gudgeons, and simply 
rested in holes in the sides of the oil box; I can't imagine how this 
improved the load distribution, but perhaps the oil bath on the 
wheels made up for that.
A maker of very large iron bells (upward of 1 ton) used a 
multi-part cast iron roller casing which bolted to the top of the 
A-frame and entirely enveloped the gudgeon. The few instances I've 
seen appeared to work quite well.
Regional foundries whose work never reached the StLouis area may 
have used other designs of which I am not yet aware.
4) Modern ball bearing assemblies seem not to have been used until 
after WW II, when they were retrofitted to good-sized old bells of 
type 2 (above), using the safety strap bolt holes.


At 22:29 +0000 2002/11/24, David Bryant wrote:
>What do people think of the article on bearings in this week's RW - I
>thought Roller bearings were first used by Moore Holmes and Mackenzie, but
>they aren't mentioned in the article. I find the suggestion that all old
>plain bearings should be kept rather ridiculous. Yes, keep one as an
>example, but I'm sure most churches can do without having a whole set of
>worn out bearings lying around!