If it seems like you’ve read similar news before, you’re not mistaken. Our October 2024 newsletter discussed the overhaul and reinstallation of the Prayer Wheel last Fall. But shortly after we reinstalled it, a primary element in the clapper mechanism slipped which dropped the wheel onto the bell. In turn, that made turning the wheel nearly impossible. So, we brought it back into the shop in July and performed several repairs and remedial upgrades that should make whole unit more robust. This included changing the lower thrust bearing so as to directly support the load, relocating the upper bearing for better vertical alignment, and installing a sprag bearing to limit the rotational direction of the wheel.

To ensure all the adjustments were correct and the wheel was operating properly, Al Miller built a test rig that the whole Prayer Wheel assembly could be tested. Al and a team of volunteers twice put the assembly together in order to refine the engineering. A team from BARN and Bainbridge Island Parks and Trains Foundation reinstalled the Prayer Wheel on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Despite our best efforts, we failed to account for a slight cant of the bell caused by an imperfect surface on the stone plinth. This caused the wheel to rub against the bell in two spots, meaning we still had a small height spacing problem we needed to solve. We retreated to the shop and made three annular brass spacers measuring a total of about 3/64″.

On Friday, Oct. 24, one of the wettest days we’ve seen in over six months, we returned to the park with spacers in hand and reassembled the bell. The Prayer Wheel now turns freely, in one direction, and rewards the wheel turner with a rich and rewarding gong. Numerous folks volunteered their time and skills in getting the Prayer Wheel back into service this year, including Mike Brown, David Hays, Andrew Lister, Al Miller, John O’Brien (Sammamish), and Jim Scrafford. A big Thank You to each and all!

If you’ve not seen the Prayer Wheel in its native environment, take a trip to the Halls Hill Lookout and Labyrinth Park on Bainbridge Island and give it a turn… it’s worth the effort.