Fitting an Antique Front Door Bell Pull and Bell

We've just updated this article with a video 'How To' guide.

We get asked allot about fitting or restoring original pulls or bells, the principle is very much the same as fitting reproduction ones as below. As with the reproduction you need some kind of 'return' spring on the pull as well as the bell. The spring returns the handle on the pull and makes the bell ring and vibrate as the bell is tensioned against its spring.

Original bells would have been connected with a tight wire and linkages rather than pulleys and cord but most original pulls and bells will work with cord and pulleys. There is some more info in the Fitting a Manual Front Door Bell Pull blog. If you do use linkages and wire its a bit more work as each linkage needs to be set under tension in the middle of its rotation and its more important to keep the wire as straight as possible.