Morning all,
Found a little bit of info on the internet.
I have always associated bell holes with pipelines (having rolled around in quite a few) but it appears that the term may have originated on pipelines but it is now a general term used to describe the position of pipe as already noted previously.
In a court case between Fluor Daniel and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers evidence was presented of an employment contract describing this;
".....and if applicable, the required welder test (eg. Stick consisting of Arkansas Bell Hole, 6010 root and pass-7018 filler and cap)
The project was for Du Pont in Circleville, Ohio so I am presuming it was a petrochem refinery and not a pipeline.
Hope that helps,
Regards,
Shane

TRC,  just so happens W. Holden is one of the contractors that works for the company I work for.  I have only met him in passing, but from what I understand he was a welder back in the day.  I guess he still lives in Fouke.  Small world. Oh, I didnt know Smokey Crabtree, just from the movie the Legend of Boggy Creek.