[Bell Historians] Lock Nuts

[David Bryant]

>I would guess that I am right to critisise this adjustment of nuts,
>or do other large rings of bells have clappers just falling out due
>to broken split pins at a rate of about 5 per year? (4 in last 9
>months)

I've been ringing at (and involved with the maintenance of the bells at) 
York Minster for four and a half years now, and whilst it is true that heavy 
rings of bells are maintenance-intensive, we don't have problems with 
breaking split pins - provided the nuts are kept tight, they don't break. We 
generally check the bells over every two or three months, and they are also 
inspected annually by Taylor's. Provided they are tight when installed, the 
clapper hinge pins pretty much never come loose. The staple bolts do work 
loose, largely because the leather washer between bell and staple compacts 
(and sometimes eventually disintegrates on the big bells). We check and 
tighten the staple bolts regularly. The clappers in the back bells also have 
a habit of drifting, making the bells go oddstruck - the 10th and 11th are 
particularly prone to this, and we realign the clappers as necessary. 
Despite now having a twiddle pin fitted to the headstock, the 11th still 
drifts. It and the 10th are quite oddstruck at the moment, but we're 
awaiting a new EN16 clapper for the tenor and will sort them out when that 
arrives.

Since I've been ringing at York, four clappers have come out. In three cases 
this was due to the clapper itself breaking, and in one case the staple bolt 
fractured where it entered the top of the staple.

David