AllChimes.org ..... All Tower Bells ..... Chimes our specialty.

NY-0216

TY-12 1923  St. Patrick's, Troy, NY

The left hand 1,2,3, 8, 12 belts are original from 1923.
5,6,7 broke and were replaced with the belt I was wearing at the time.
4,9,10,11 were remade by a professional at a tack shop.

The white things are 3x5 cards covering the original 'D' labels with 'C' labels.



My chime (TY-12-1923 at St. Patrick's, Troy, NY) is shown first to illustrate what a "normal" American made chimestand with pump handles will generally resemble.
An ellacombe setup will have vertical ropes, no handles and may be anchored from below.

Left - There is hardly a tower or chimestand where you will not see something new.
Chimers and chime founders often had problems and solved them in ingenious ways.
1. This chime was notated in 'D'.  On Christmas Eve, I went out of town with music to transpose into 'C' for an electric keyboard.  Only brought back a copy in 'C'.  Panicked.  Then labeled 3x5 cards or could have used 'post-it notes' and rubber banded them to pump handles.  Liked 'C' so much that I have rung that way since.  You might want to bring these with you if going to another chime.  Use your scale on the 3x5 cards and enjoy.
2. Emergency repair, when an original 1923 belt broke, had to use what was at hand.
3. The 4# and 7b handles are in lock-down position. (space looks black)
4. The lockdowns at West Point are ropes from the floor.
5. There are foot pedals for the lower 4 bells.

Right - The view of the handles to rod connection, with the music stand lifted off.
1. The rods are lower where the 4# and 7th are locked down.
2. 1/2/3/8/12 have the original brittle belts.  One might break while playing.
3. 4/9/10/11 have belts made by a tack shop.
4. 5/6/7 have regular personal (emergency) belts gerrymandered to do the job.
5. Most (but not all) keyboards are linear.  Lock-downs solved the sharp/flat problem, but a few are upper/lower where sharps and flats occur.
Use BACK bar on browser to return to previous menu.
Send mail to  Carl Zimmerman  with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified by Carl Zimmerman:  14-Feb-2014
Last modified by Joe Connors:  11/20/12