After trying Tom's practice bell during the AGM weekend (it was set up in the library) or watching people be taught, a number of Boston ringers expressed interest in having one here.
A thought was that it might be really useful for IAP learners, or interested parishioners?
Here's a video, for people who didn't get a chance to see it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_PVOyVmee4
I followed up with Tom. The materials alone cost him $300. He is hoping to produce these for general sale at a much higher price, but is open to giving advice to people making their own. He also suggested that we could rent one from him
to see if we find it useful.
It collapses down into component parts, but takes a while to set up and break down. For transportation in his car, the dimensions were 42" x 72" x 30". The six foot part is what worries me about shipping, but I'm sure it could happen for a price.
How serious are we about this? We could probably find a storage space, but where would we set it up? I half-jokingly said to Arthur that we should put it in Lobby 10 during IAP and get people walking down the corridor to try it, but
we'd have to get it there, set it up, and staff it. Bryn remarked regretfully that we don't have anybody in Cambridge or Boston with a garage available, to leave it set up. It's a shame one can no longer rent a space in the Metropolitan Storage building.
Laura Dickerson