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Following the installation of our ringing simulator, we needed an easy way to silence the bells.
Two of the bells are easily reached from outside the frame while standing on the floor. These are silenced using a traditional method - a wooden bar across the mouth of the bell, holding the clapper in place.
The other six bells cannot be accessed from outside the frame - it is necessary to climb across the top of the frame and into each individual bell pit. Initially we silenced those bells by holding the clapper on one side of the bell with an old bicycle inner tube stretched over the top of the crown staple and the clapper flight. While these were readily available, and did the job, there were problems:
Getting the tubes tight enough needed a lot of effort.
Even when the tubes appeared to be tight at the top of the bell, the clapper could sometimes still move. This was because the friction where the tube passed over the lip of the bell could prevent the tube stretching evenly along its length.
It was difficult getting tight tubes over the crown staple when removing the silencers.
The tubes could easily be damaged by the split pin in the crown staple when being fitted or removed.
To avoid these problems, we developed silencers based on tie-down ratchet straps, usually used to secure loads on roof racks, trailers, etc.
Materials
Materials
This will be enough to make one silencer.
One ratchet strap.
We used medium ratchet straps, available from Wilko for about £5 each. Our heaviest bell is about 12cwt, but the same straps should be suitable for heavier bells.
Ratchet straps can be bought from pound shops, but while these are suitable for making a prototype, experience shows that they do not last long in use.
A 1m length of 8mm bungee cord.
A piece of foam about 100mm x 100mm, cut from a kneeling mat. One mat should be large enough to make several pads.
Embroidery thread.
A piece of string, about 300mm long.
Instructions
Instructions
The silencers need to be made to measure for each bell, so it is best to make them in the bell chamber. After the first one or two it only takes about 20 minutes to make each one.
The ratchets come with two webbing straps.
A short strap is fixed to the ratchet, and is used to attach a hook to the ratchet. Cut this strap so that the hook is removed, but a short loop remains attached to the ratchet.
A longer strap is not permanently attached but is intended to be threaded through the slot in the ratchet spindle. Thread about 70mm of this strap through the slot, fold it back and stitch it to itself, forming a loop that fixes the strap to the spindle. The stitching does not need to be particularly strong as it will not be under any strain when the silencer is in use.
Thread the bungee cord through the loop in the short strap twice, then tie the ends to form a double loop.
Hook the bungee loop over the crown staple so that the long strap hangs over the shoulder of the bell.
The size of the bungee cord loop should be such that the ratchet will not be in contact with the bell or headstock when the ratchet is tightened. Adjust the size of the loop if needed.
Thread the bungee cord through the loop in the short strap twice, then tie the ends to form a double loop.
Hook the bungee loop over the crown staple so that the long strap hangs over the shoulder of the bell.
The size of the bungee cord loop should be such that the ratchet will not be in contact with the bell or headstock when the ratchet is tightened. Adjust the size of the loop if needed.
Pass the long strap around the clapper flight then pull the end of the strap up so that the clapper ball is moved about half-way towards the soundbow. Note how far the strap has been pulled up to achieve this then release the clapper.
Tie a knot in the strap to form a loop that will hold the clapper in that position. The size and position of the loop needs to take the following into account:
1) When the strap is fully unwound from the ratchet, it must be possible to hook the bungee over the crown staple and the loop over the clapper flight, with the clapper held off-centre.
2) The loop needs to be large enough to easily fall off the flight when the silencer is being removed.
3) The knot must be between the lip and crown of the bell. It must not be so close to the ratchet that it prevents it from being tightened.
4) The overall length must be such that the clapper can be pulled against the soundbow with 3 - 5 turns of the ratchet, or else the strap will not fit in the mechanism when it is wound.
The knot used to make the loop will be under strain so needs to be secure - not a slip knot! But initially it should not be so tight that it cannot be undone if the loop size is not correct.
Once the loop is the correct size, cut off any excess strap above the knot. The offcut is usually enough to make another silencer, so keep it for repairs if a strap gets badly worn (although this has not yet happened to our silencers).
Make a hole in one corner of the foam pad. Thread the string through the hole in the pad and also through the loop in the strap, then tie the ends of the string together. This does not need to be precise, it is just so that the pad does not fall to the floor when the silencer is removed. However, the string must not be too long or it might catch on something when the bell is turning.
The pad is not an essential part of the silencer, but clock chimes do not sound right if they strike on a bell while the the silencers are fitted if the pad is not in place.
Use a match or cigarette lighter to seal the cut ends of the webbing and bungee cord.
Write the bell number on the ratchet and/or pad with a permanent marker.
It is a good idea to provide a hook for each silencer near to the bell that it has been made for.
Fitting a silencer
Fitting a silencer
You will need to climb into the bell pit in order to fit the silencer. As the clapper will be held off centre, it is usually preferable to be on the opposite side of the bell to the rope. This will prevent the bell becoming fine-set at handstroke.
Hook the bungee loop over the crown staple and let the webbing loop hang over the lip of the bell.
Reach under the bell, pull the clapper towards the soundbow, and hook the loop around the flight.
You can now let go of the clapper and let the strap hold it in place.
With one hand, hold the pad between the clapper ball and the soundbow. Use the other hand to tighten the ratchet until the pad is held securely between the ball and soundbow. Mind your fingers while doing this!
For smaller bells, where it is possible to reach the top of the crown staple and clapper at the same time, you might find it easier to fit the webbing loop around the flight first, then fit the bungee loop over the crown staple.
Removing a silencer
Removing a silencer
First release the ratchet lock. As it is under tension the strap will start to unwind from the ratchet as soon as the lock is released, so once again, mind your fingers!
Once the strap has partially unwound from the ratchet, it should be easy to lift the bungee loop off the crown staple and let the webbing loop drop off the clapper flight.
If you need to climb over the top of the frame to reach the bells, then note that it is not necessary to climb down into a bell pit in order to remove a silencer. Before releasing the ratchet, thread a length of spare rope (about 2m) through the bungee loop and hold on to the ends while removing the silencer. This means that it is easy to recover the silencer if it drops into the bell pit while being removed.
The rope is also useful if the webbing loop does not drop off the flight. If this happens, use the rope to lower the silencer into the pit, shake it until the loop drops off, then use the rope to pull the silencer back up.
With a bit of practice it is possible to fit or remove one of these silencers in a few seconds.
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