Clappers for large bells

[David Bryant]

This morning, after about 25 years use, the EN16 clapper in York Minster
tenor broke in half during ringing. Obviously, we want to get the bell back
in action as soon as possible, and are debating as to what type of clapper
to get. I expect there are people on these lists involved with the
maintenance of some of the large (i.e. 40cwt+) rings of bells, and I would
be interested in their comments / experiences with obaining clappers for
large bells. In particular:

1) Material
2) Dynamics of the clapper
3) Whether or not to have a counterbalance (we leave the bells up most of
the time, so if it goes up wrong that isn't too much of a problem)
4) Supplier: experiences of clappers from different sources.

This isn't likely to be a subject of much general interest, so if anyone has
any comments could they please email them to me directly rather than to the
list.

Thanks

David