Clappers
![[Bell bearing]](media/images/clapper.jpg)
This photograph into the mouth of the tenor bell shows two problems, both associated with the clapper.
The first problem is that the clapper has been striking the same part of the bell for three hundred years. A bell should be taken down every hundred years or so and rotated so that the clapper will strike a different part of the sound bow. This hasn't been done with our bells and we are now having to pay the price.
The other problem is less obvious but equally serious. The bearing on which the clapper swings has worn. This wear means that the clapper can rock from side to side as it swings. Instead of striking the bell cleanly and squarely the clapper rolls around the inside of the pit that it has worn into the sound bow. The rolling strains the clapper bearing yet further and increases the rate of wear.