[Bell Historians] Ball races

[Steve Stanford]

About 4 years ago we re-hung the back six bells at Bromham (Beds) for just
under £5,000. They are 23cwt (so not too dissimilar size), and were equipped
with Taylor (1907) headstocks and plain bearings, so it was possible to
reuse the plummer blocks and modify the gudgeons to suit the new bearing
units (although it is important to ensure this is done carefully such that
the new self aligning bearing can actually self-align without fouling).
Hence, no frame modifications were required - you may not be that lucky at
Beccles!

 

With the exception of the work to the headstocks/gudgeons, all of the work
and transportation was done by local volunteer labour. The bearings which at
about £35 are by no means a significant part of the cost, were supplied FOC
by a local firm. Had the work been done commercially it would probably have
cost about £15,000. So a few years on, for fund raising purposes, you could
probably reckon on about £1,000 per bell (or £500 per bearing) for a purely
DIY job and may be 2-3 x that for everything to be done commercially. (I
would not advise a local labour project unless you really know what you are
doing, not only mechanically, but also with negotiating / meeting the
various HS&E and insurance requirements / assessments – the latter consumed
as much, if not more time than the former!). 

 

Hope this helps - good luck with the project.

 

Steve

 

Steve Stanford

steve.h.stanford at E8oIjQ8-rBDWPos2Kudu6yeam4gOAOiA5bkhAacRxnSOU6AvdjBNJ8JKdJ7UpMoEXcr0PQgjgp90MVaQAK_OtwDmibI.yahoo.invalid

 

  _____  

From: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com [mailto:bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of jbpickup
Sent: 21 June 2010 11:32
To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Bell Historians] Ball races

 

  

We are trying to raise money to rehang the ring of 10 at Beccles, Suffolk,
on ball bearings. One of the things suggested for raising money was "Buy a
Bearing". Could somebody either give me an indication or point me in the
right direction for finding out the price of ball races used for such a job.
The bells range in weight between 6cwt and 25cwt. Obviously the cases and
labour will add more expense but I would just like to know the basic price
of one bearing.

JBP



           
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