[Bell Historians] Bellframes publication

['Chris Pickford' c.j.pickford.t21@btinternet.com [bellhistorians]]

A significant error in Bellframes: a practical guide . has just come to
light, and I can see that it may cause confusion when trying to classify
some types of frame. The error itself is minor (one word), but it's enough
to undermine the fundamental simplicity of the classification by main
groups. 8.2.D.a is described as having "wooden sill, steel head ." - where
(as this is in the "all metal" group) - the basic frame-type described has
steel sills. 

 

There does seem to be confusion in submissions made to Dove regarding
materials for metal frames, so it's perhaps worth a quick overview as a
reminder

 

The main groups are

7. Composite frames of wood and metal

8. All metal frames, with sub-groups

            8.1 Frames of steel and wrought iron

            8.2 Steel frames with cast-iron components

8.3 Cast-iron frames

 

Basically

1.    The materials define the groups (as above)

2.    Composite means timber and metal (but always with the bearings set in
timber)

3.    Where the bearings are mounted is an aid to classification - are they
on timber (=composite), steel or wrought-iron (groups 8.1 or 8.2 depending
on the rest of the truss), or cast-iron (group 8.3)

4.    The conventions involve a degree of shorthand (so all cast-iron frames
contain steelwork - but the convention for description is cast-iron)

5.    Yes, there are some oddities (8.3.C.b-d which look composite - but are
shown here in the classification scheme because the bearings are on the
cast-iron members)

6.    There are two types of standard lowside frame - steel (8.1.B.a) and
cast-iron (8.3.A.a-n); and the same for H-frame (8.1.F.e in steel and
8.3.C.e in cast-iron)

 

Old restoration reports (sometimes the source for updates) often say that
bells have been rehung in steel frames - beware, this is very often just a
layman's or general description, and no guide at all to the actual materials
used. Distinguishing between steelwork and castings is easy enough - as a
rule of thumb steelwork has straight edges, which casting have moulded
sections (e.g. for bearing bedplates, ribs etc)

 

Not a lecture! Just posting this in case it's helpful to anyone who can't
quite get to grips with the nuances of the scheme. I'm always willing to
help (within reason) with identifications and explanations, and certainly
glad to hear of additional types and layouts (recurrent ones - the scheme
can't cover one-offs) for an eventual re-issue.

 

Chris Pickford

E-mails - moving to pickford5040 at gmail.com <mailto:pickford5040 at gmail.com>


 

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