 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bell Restoration
At Tower Clock Services Australia, we undertake the restoration, automation and repair of bells and bell towers.
Typically a bell has remained silent for many years, sometimes for reasons of safety, often the tower has fallen into disrepair. We have made a number of new towers for bells and refit existing towers to correct errors when the bell was originally hung.
Bell towers in country churches and chapels were usually built by local labour as an afterthought using whatever materials were to hand (railway tracks are not unheard of!) with little regard to aesthetics and the architecture of the church.
Often when enquiries are made in a country community regarding it’s history, a wealth of colourful folklore is unearthed surrounding the bell. Every bell has a story!
Cracked Bells
Bells become cracked almost exclusively through misuse – overzealous bell ringers striking the bell with anything other than the clapper, but most often through ‘clocking’ - the practice of pulling the clapper against the inside of the sound bow.
Recently we have had success with the repair of cracked bells. This can be a risky process since the alloy of the bell cannot easily be determined, especially with bells from some of the lesser known foundries.
Automation
Having a wealth of experience in chiming clocks, this lends itself well to the practice of automating bells. A popular requirement is to have a bell strike the Angelus at 9 am, noon and 6 pm. This a straight forward task until the bell is to remain silent on Good Friday and Easter Saturday, then strike the Regina Cali through to Pentecost Sunday, observe daylight savings changes and also be able to toll for funerals, weddings and on demand at the push of a button. This is accomplished through an electromagnetic bell hammer and a computerised processor. Events can be programmed up to 20 years in advance!
This technology can be used to manage a single bell or any number of bells. It can be seen therefore that so much more can be gained from the automation of a bell rather than have it hang silently beside the church with a simple rope being the only means of tolling.
