Clapper failure information request

[Brett masters]

Mark
"Come and see and hear our composite clapper at Worcester Cathedral. 6 peals
and over 150,000 changes and it sounds so much better too. We'd be happy to
make one up out of a broken SG then you can see and hear for yourself. "

I have heard the new clapper and have to say that the bell now sounds great.
(not that it didn't before) Although I have noticed an increase in clapper
"roll" noise inside.


"That many failures show that the design is at fault - not the material."


Please correct me if I'm wrong but haven't all the broken clappers at
Worchester been counter balanced? Counter balanced clappers have two forces
to deal with and this is normally what causes the failure (fundamentally the
design). 

I also believe (again correct me if I'm wrong) that E & S provided you with
a Standard SG Iron clapper after the last Counter balanced one failed, did
you fit this? If you did, how did it perform and sound?

I went over to Christ church Dublin in March '05 with a new clapper for the
tenor as all the previous counter balanced clappers had also failed. The
remains of the last two were still in the tower. Made by two Bell hangers
with two similar designs but different size shafts and both had broken in
exactly the same place, just below the pivot point.

We fitted a Standard SG iron clapper which hasn't failed yet (touch wood).
The clapper has a very thin shaft compared to previous models. 

Ok so the clapper has to be turned over every time the bell is rung up but
it's not an issue in this case.

Various people say that the bell sounds a lot better than before and hums
for a lot longer. (I'm not able to compare the difference before and after
like Worchester as I didn't hear Dublin before we fitted the new clapper)

It has survived all ringing up until now, one peal attempt and another to
come, various Quarter peals and New Years Eve ringing. 

http://www.cccdub.ie/bells/tower/2005/gallery-05.html


B