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Bellropes and nautical bell-pulls

BELLROPES

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Last updated 2010-09-06

The bellrope is a necessary ancillary to the ship's bell, long considered the 'heart ' of a ship. Ship'sbells are almost mystical objects, especially for as superstit ious a lot as are sailors. They are polished before all other itemsand are the last thing to be removed when a ship is decommissioned or scrapped. US Navy vessels have their names engravedon their bells and when a ship is struck from the list , the last Commanding Officer usually receives the bell for safekeeping.

The bell-rope is a symbol of the Pride in the ship taken by the crew... batt leships and other majorvessels will usually have the fanciest bell-ropes, often the product of several hundred hours of labour by one or more expertknotters. The more detail and embellishments, the more respect it engenders. This bellrope took me some 70 hours to produceand complete. It is not particularly fancy, but it is probably the neatest I've ever made. I'd like to thank Marty Combs : he is my source for the # 15 codline used in the bellrope's cover and turksheads creation.

The large bellrope was made specif ically for the Tamaroa Marit ime Foundation which owns andoperates the former USS Zuni (ATF 95) / USCGC TAMAROA (WMEC 166) as a living history museum in the Richmond, Va., area. She iscurrently berthed in the Newport News area of Virginia where she will act as a museum and instructional tool for SeaCadet troops, Boy and Girl Scouts and other organizations as well as local schools. It is also anticipated that she will be involvedin Displays and Sail- ins along the East Coast in the future. Visit their website HERE for more information on theTamaroa/Zuni. If WE don't preserve our history, who WILL?

BELLROPES

Bellrope of # 15 cotton codline over a "laid" pudding (core). 20" overall from top of eye to f inial knot,and 2.75" diameter at the widest point.

Eye is a 3-strand ringbolt braid (or Spanish Graft) of # 7 sail-twine over f ive cores with a brassthimble insert, to a 5x4 "Square" TKH covering the thimble to body connexion. Upper two sections are done in a fender-woven "over2" pattern cover with a 7x6 square TKH at the f irst size transit ion, and a 9x8 square TKH at the second size transit ion. The 3x5TKHs are purely decorative. At the second size transit ion, the covering changes from the fender-weave to a simple graft ing stitchof "1-up, 1-down" which, while a 'simple' graft , st ill takes about 10 hours to do. Third size transit ion is covered by an 11x10square TKH and the end is done in a 12x11 square TKH (

simply because I won't use anything with the number "13" on a bellrope) which also "laps" or binds in the bottom cover, a 3-strand sewn box-braid which is f inished off by a stacked 9x6-star knot.

Appx 3 weeks lead t ime

Ringbolt-hitchedeye lanyard and connexion to body cover of 'over-2' fender hitching to 7x6 'square turkshead

'over-2' fenderhitching to 7x6 'square turkshead covering sizetransit ion to 3x5 3-pass decorative turkshead

3x8 'square'turksheadto a 12x11'square' turksheadlapping the 3-strandboxweave end witha 9x6 f inial 'f illed' star knot.

'over-2' fenderhitching to 9x8 'square' turksheadcovering transit ion in size andshift to 'simple' graft cover with 3x54-pass decorativeturkshead

Side view of theend knots showing the3x8 decorative turkshead

"simple' graft coverto last size transit ionunder 11x10 'square'turkshead to a 3x8 (5-pass) decorative turks.

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10 inch bellropeas shown, $450

with ringbolt hitched eye over small thimble, # 15 "over-two" fender laid body cover and various turksheads: f lat knob with box-braid endplate.

Turksheads from top: 5x4 in # 15, 3x5 in# 12, 3x5 in # 15, 3x5 in # 12, 6x7 in # 12, (2) 3x5 in # 15 (4-pass), 7x8 in # 15, 3x8 in # 12 (4-pass), 9x8 (lapped over end) in # 15. Appx. 2 week lead t ime.

Same design (approximately) in a six-inch bellrope is $295 and eight inch at $330.

Each bellrope is unique : size and number to turksheads varies with overall length.

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BELLROPE 20"as shown $1,050.00

A bit less ornate but still decorative, this 12" bellrope ismade in the tradit ional manner by building up a "pudding" or acore of small lines laid over one another and bound into acylinder, then covered with the tradit ional "fender-hitch" to makethe body. Boxed end lapped by largest turkshead.

The turksheads are applied next and are graduated from a 5x4 "square" turkshead at the thimble eye to two 11x10 "square" turksheads at the other end. I don't use a 13x12 as nothing aboard ship should have the number thirteen except t ime.

The brass thimble eye is, as are all my bellropes, enclosed by "Spanish Coxcombing" or Ringbolt hitching and the bellrope comes with your choice of a small or large shackle for attaching to the ringer-eye on the clapper of the bell. This one is suitable for a 14" thru 18" bell.

$450.00 as shown. 2 week leadtime.

Note that on this example the turksheads have been varnished to increase the visual contrast.

It is intended for display purposes. If for daily use the entire bellrope should be re-varnished.

(For those feeling particularlyambitious and who might wish

to try their hand at making theirown bellrope, I have a tutorial

HERE which walks you thru thevarious steps required.

Bring lots of skin, t ime and patience!

I supply my bellropes un-varnished for several reasons: you may have a particular type or

colour of varnish you wish to use, you may wish to use a clear or tinted polyurethane instead of varnish, you may wish to coat the work in a clear thin epoxy.... the possibilities are endless. There are several dozen shades of varnish and urethanes available, from "spar" varnish which dries a very dark colour to "Epiphanes", a lighter "caramel" colour, to.... you name it.

The real reason is that I'm allergic to oil-based substances, so if you want the rope varnished, I suggest you pick up some samples from the paint store / ship's chandlery and try 'em out on some cotton line to see what you like best, then go for it.

They should

be protected with something if they are to be used aboard. If for display only, you may safely leave them un-coated.

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Bellrope for the ship's bell from USS NICHOLAS (DD/DDE 449)

You'll pardon me for a moment while I act insufferably proud, but the bellrope below has been chosenby The Destroyer History Foundation to grace the ship's bell of the USS NICHOLAS (DD/DDE 449) at it 's retirement ceremony onAug. 8, 2008. The NICHOLAS was named for Major Samuel Nicholas, the Marine Corps’ f irst commissioned off icer andthus, by tradit ion, the f irst Commandant, and her ship's bell was used for all Marine ceremonies at the Marine's HQ, MarineBarracks Washington, from appx. 1970 until 1997, when it developed a hairline crack. It is being beautifully refinished by theMcShane Bell Foundry and will be hung in a permanent indoor location to honour the ship, the tradit ional f irst Commandant and allthe men who "went in harms way" aboard her in three wars. The Nicholas, when decommissioned in 1970, was the most decoratedsurface ship in the U. S. Navy. I qvell.

Tradit ional all-cotton, 12" long, brass thimble with eight varnished turks heads on white body. Curvature is due to camera lens.

PLEASE NOTE: All bellrope work requires a 50% deposit before work will begin and full payment upon completion.

You can thank some jackass in California for this.

All content these pages ©2004-2010 Frayed Knot Arts. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use

prohibited without prior written permission.

An 8" overall long by 2.5" wide bellrope done forCapt. R Moser of Virginia in early 2011. A number three thimble rather shortens the apparent overall of the bellrope. End isclosed off by a 9x8 turkshead and various other sizes are doneup the body of "over-two" hitching.

$420.00 2-week lead

This may look similar to the 8" above, but its only 3-5/8"long and it had to be made up around the thimble AFTER the brassthimble was forced onto the large bronze shackle. Standard "BigButt" design using three 3x5 square turk's heads and then a 9x8square which laps over the end and covers the butt. Body covered in"simple" graft ing. Finished off with a 5-point starknot. Altogethera lot of work and not much fun to do... the shackle's weight kept pulling the work out of my hands and engendered my learning of some Finnish sailor-speak. (Did you know you can start or stop a storm by cursing in Finnish? DAMHIKT!)

$300.00 and a LOT of sweet-talking. 3-week lead.