Acquired a eight rope spider from a local tower where it has sat for many decades and is of no use. Seemingly a homemade unit but now painted and back in proper use. Nice heavy metal weight so enough to pull the cord down on its own which works well.
Replaced the 3lb 5oz chromed ex police or fire engine bell today with a heavier 5ib 15 oz brass bell which came in the same box from Jim Currin. This bell is a much nicer more strident note and is almost identical in tone. Looks right and sounds nicer. Was worried it was a little too high in note but now hung and rung seems to fit in well. Still looking for a treble to complete the eight but nearly there after twenty years since starting.
Augmented today with a bargain bell found on table top sale. Miraculously the bell tunes to become the new second of the eight. The clapper has a new counterweight cast and awaits assembly. Now I need to find a top F sharp to complete the octave. After finishing off the interior lining for the end wall so that it did not need to come off again. The lining needed to go to the roof and access to this area is restricted once the frames are in place. The beams had to be trimmed slightly as a result of the roof work which allowed them to fit perfectly this time. The frames were erected with the back four frame going in first. The bells were put back into the pits and then the second frame was erected. Suddenly the bells were complete again and rang out again. This means that all the major items displaced as a result of the roof work is now back in place and even the lights were reassembled too. Massive clean up too......test ring to be arranged.
Remarkably easy to take each bell out of its pit and lower the assembly to the ground along with the frames and even the beams. So currently back to square one again. With the insulation and roofing work going on around the bells work has started to remove them. Only a temporary measure but a very necessary one as the mounting beams are being lowered two inches.
Looking at insulating and lining the building around the palace ring. This may mean that the ringing installation may need to be temporarily lowered to the ground whilst the work is carried out.
A pleasant day without disturbance meant that more progress was made than expected and the Palace ring is now in its new situation and in working order. The installation went very smoothly and the bells look good. Rather strange to see them so high up compared to the Whitacre Campanile. Test ringing has taken place of the individual bells but no proper test yet. Had to join the acrylic ropes together to make them long enough to suit the new height but all now work reasonably. All the fixtures and fittings were tightened up and checked as assembly took place. The Whitacre Campanile is no more as it was dismantled this morning and transported in sections to its new home. Time dictated that the parts are now stored on the floor ready for reassembly.
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