Handle Decal Peeling
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Nicholas Barnard
May 23, 2012, 1:06:59 AM5/23/12
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Dear Handbell Wisdom,
A church owns the bells that my quartet plays on. Those bells were purchased maybe three years ago. On two of the bells the decal for the note name and gold braid has a spot where it's coming off.
It's kind of a cosmetic issue, but it bugs me quite a bit.
Does anyone know if this is under warranty? Would it be petty to request new handles?
I've attached pictures of the two handles in question.
Nick
(look at one of my precious emails for which groups I ring in. I'm exhausted, and yes I realize it took more typing to type this than my usual signature. But at least this makes me laugh, or a least it should. Well I hope it will. I'll report back if anyone is interested. But really why would you be interested? Who knows. Okay I'm going to click send no
A church owns the bells that my quartet plays on. Those bells were purchased maybe three years ago. On two of the bells the decal for the note name and gold braid has a spot where it's coming off.
It's kind of a cosmetic issue, but it bugs me quite a bit.
Does anyone know if this is under warranty? Would it be petty to request new handles?
I've attached pictures of the two handles in question.
Nick
(look at one of my precious emails for which groups I ring in. I'm exhausted, and yes I realize it took more typing to type this than my usual signature. But at least this makes me laugh, or a least it should. Well I hope it will. I'll report back if anyone is interested. But really why would you be interested? Who knows. Okay I'm going to click send no
Blanche Marie Lewis
May 23, 2012, 7:13:28 AM5/23/12
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If they're only 3 years old, they should still be under warranty. Call
Schulmerich and see. It never hurts to ask! It's pretty easy to switch out a
handle.
Blanche Marie
(hope you got some sleep since your post - you were starting to sound a
little slap-happy!)
Schulmerich and see. It never hurts to ask! It's pretty easy to switch out a
handle.
Blanche Marie
(hope you got some sleep since your post - you were starting to sound a
little slap-happy!)
Silver Woodbury
May 23, 2012, 9:49:04 AM5/23/12
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Schulmerich bells purchased after May, 15th 1984 carry a lifetime warranty
on the "entire" bell (casting, disks, handles, yokes, clappers). Contact
your Schulmerich rep and they will help you.
Schulmerich bells before that time have a lifetime warranty on the casting
only. However, if your bells have been factory refurbished within the past
10 years or you have documentation of the purchase of new disks, handles or
clappers, it's well worth a try for warranty replacement. You will have to
send in your cracked/broken parts for evaluation after you receive your new
parts. Again, your Schulmerich rep will be happy to help you.
Silver
Mrs. Silver D. Woodbury
Silverbell Enterprises
Regional Independent Sales Representative for Schulmerich Bells
Oklahoma - Kansas - Arkansas - Northern Texas
Authorized Dealer for Murphy Robes in Oklahoma
10012 Carnie Circle, Yukon, OK 73099
405-519-0331 mobile
888-735-5407 toll-free voice and fax
silve...@cox.net or SWoo...@SchulmerichBells.com
on the "entire" bell (casting, disks, handles, yokes, clappers). Contact
your Schulmerich rep and they will help you.
Schulmerich bells before that time have a lifetime warranty on the casting
only. However, if your bells have been factory refurbished within the past
10 years or you have documentation of the purchase of new disks, handles or
clappers, it's well worth a try for warranty replacement. You will have to
send in your cracked/broken parts for evaluation after you receive your new
parts. Again, your Schulmerich rep will be happy to help you.
Silver
Mrs. Silver D. Woodbury
Silverbell Enterprises
Regional Independent Sales Representative for Schulmerich Bells
Oklahoma - Kansas - Arkansas - Northern Texas
Authorized Dealer for Murphy Robes in Oklahoma
10012 Carnie Circle, Yukon, OK 73099
405-519-0331 mobile
888-735-5407 toll-free voice and fax
silve...@cox.net or SWoo...@SchulmerichBells.com
Daniel Reck
May 24, 2012, 12:29:45 PM5/24/12
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On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 12:06:59 AM UTC-5, Nicholas Barnard wrote:
A church owns the bells that my quartet plays on. Those bells were purchased maybe three years ago. On two of the bells the decal for the note name and gold braid has a spot where it's coming off.
Nick and all,
The Schulmerich bells we use with Shadows of Bronze were purchased at about the same time and we've had atrocious peeling issues. (As opposed to pealing issues--a different kind of bell "problem!") I've had to have more than a dozen handles replaced, and more start peeling any time we add a new piece with four-in-hand in a different position.
Schulmerich has been very good about taking the handles back and replacing them on warranty. The only thing I'm miffed about is they charge me $15-20 for UPS shipping every time even though they could ship via USPS for half the price. For warranty service, they should just comp the shipping anyway.
Does anyone else here on the -L have Schulmerich bells or handles from that era? Are you having any issues? My Schulmerich rep said that mine must have come "from a bad batch," so I wonder how big that "batch" might be.
Best,
Daniel
--
Daniel M. Reck
Director, Shadows of Bronze
Nicholas Barnard
May 24, 2012, 12:38:31 PM5/24/12
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Daniel,
Thank you for that info.. I think I'm going to go about getting these replaced.. Now I just need to check with the logistics of how this church would like this handled.. (Of the three sets of bells that I maintain this is the only set that I haven't had to contact the manufacturer about…
Nick
Seattle, WA
(Who realizes in his previous email he sent "look at one of my precious emails..." but intended to send "look at one of my previous emails...". Normally, I would blame the iPhone, but I'm quite sure that its a Freudian slip. Yes, my emails to you are precious, please treat them that way.. :-p )
Roy
May 24, 2012, 12:47:00 PM5/24/12
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San Diego Harmony Ringers purchased our set of Schullies about 2 years ago, and experienced peeling on 4-5 of our 7's (that are 4IH with the 6's). They sent the new handles with a shipment of clappers (but that's another email) so we didn't pay shipping on them - but we did have to pay shipping to send the duds back...
From: Daniel Reck <danie...@gmail.com>
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Sent: Thu, May 24, 2012 9:29:51 AM
Subject: [HB-L] Re: Handle Decal Peeling
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Nancy Kirkner
May 24, 2012, 1:07:26 PM5/24/12
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Yes, I have the problem on several of my bells. I bought this set in
2009. I also had the problem on the set I bought in 2007. (I use
that set for bell tree work now, so either the problem no longer
occurs or I don't notice it.) My theory: the gold braid decal, a
recent innovation, can't stand up to the rubbing involved in four-in-
hand or constant bell changes. The problem is worse in the middle of
the range where the bells get used a lot. I asked to have some
handles replaced under warranty very early on, was appalled at the
cost of shipping both ways, and the new handles promptly started
peeling too. I've decided just to live with the problem, since it
doesn't interfere with my ringing. If I had it to do over again, I
wouldn't get the gold braid, which doesn't help me that much anyway.
What I would *really* like is for Schulmerich to fix the sound quality
of the A#5/Bb5. The clapper break occurs there, and no combination of
new bells, new castings, new clappers (including upsizing the
clapper), clapper setting changes, and back-and-forth with Schulmerich
has ever resulted in a bell that sounds right. I first noticed the
problem while working with Nancy Hascall and playing her older set,
where the Bb5 sounds like a gorgeous, mellow Bb5, instead of the tinny
sound my Bb5s have. I've heard of others having the same problem, and
I think it's a design flaw.
As a side note, the church bell choir my husband plays in had their
Schullies refurbished about 6 years ago. We've already replaced one
broken handle due to an over-zealous teenager's marting, another
handle broken by the same guy's father, and this week the choir found
4 more about to crack. Since they made only a quick inspection, I
told him I'd check all the bells when I go over to the church today to
teach one of my handbell students. I'm wondering if there are
manufacturing issues with the handles, in general.
Silver's customers are lucky to have a rep who plays the instrument
herself, is willing to stock and sell spare parts, and who responds to
inquiries from customers and potential customers. This isn't the case
in every Schulmerich territory, and such a resource would be very
helpful.
Best -
Nancy Kirkner
www.solobells.com
2009. I also had the problem on the set I bought in 2007. (I use
that set for bell tree work now, so either the problem no longer
occurs or I don't notice it.) My theory: the gold braid decal, a
recent innovation, can't stand up to the rubbing involved in four-in-
hand or constant bell changes. The problem is worse in the middle of
the range where the bells get used a lot. I asked to have some
handles replaced under warranty very early on, was appalled at the
cost of shipping both ways, and the new handles promptly started
peeling too. I've decided just to live with the problem, since it
doesn't interfere with my ringing. If I had it to do over again, I
wouldn't get the gold braid, which doesn't help me that much anyway.
What I would *really* like is for Schulmerich to fix the sound quality
of the A#5/Bb5. The clapper break occurs there, and no combination of
new bells, new castings, new clappers (including upsizing the
clapper), clapper setting changes, and back-and-forth with Schulmerich
has ever resulted in a bell that sounds right. I first noticed the
problem while working with Nancy Hascall and playing her older set,
where the Bb5 sounds like a gorgeous, mellow Bb5, instead of the tinny
sound my Bb5s have. I've heard of others having the same problem, and
I think it's a design flaw.
As a side note, the church bell choir my husband plays in had their
Schullies refurbished about 6 years ago. We've already replaced one
broken handle due to an over-zealous teenager's marting, another
handle broken by the same guy's father, and this week the choir found
4 more about to crack. Since they made only a quick inspection, I
told him I'd check all the bells when I go over to the church today to
teach one of my handbell students. I'm wondering if there are
manufacturing issues with the handles, in general.
Silver's customers are lucky to have a rep who plays the instrument
herself, is willing to stock and sell spare parts, and who responds to
inquiries from customers and potential customers. This isn't the case
in every Schulmerich territory, and such a resource would be very
helpful.
Best -
Nancy Kirkner
www.solobells.com
Silver Woodbury
May 24, 2012, 1:39:09 PM5/24/12
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Thank you so much, Nancy, for your kind words! Schulmerich has been making
a conscious effort to recruit reps with handbell experience. There is a
wide variety among us. I recall a meeting at the home office where some of
us were talking about attending Distinctly Bronze, our favorite handbell
music, etc. and I heard one of the older reps say, "They actually play these
things!" Sigh...
Yes, the vendor who makes our handles changed the composition of the plastic
a couple of years ago without advising the company, leading to a rash of
handle failures. This problem was resolved and Schulmerich changed
procedures at the factory to better trace such problems in the future (God
forbid). However, there are still some handles out there. As a rule of
thumb, if your handles have the black neoprene blocks, they are newer style
handles. If they fail, contact the company to get a warranty replacement.
Also, if you have your bells refurbished by an individual or a company other
than Schulmerich, try to get some documentation on when they purchased the
handles - or any parts, for that matter, so you will have a paper trail when
seeking a warranty replacement. When I do a refurbishment, I order the
parts directly from Schulmerich using the customer's Schulmerich entity
number. This gives both the church and Schulmerich a record of the parts
and Schulmerich invoices the church directly. If circumstances prevent that
procedure, I order the parts I need separately, noting the customer on the
order and presenting them with the packing slip from the order when I
present my refurbishment report.
Regarding the clappers, Schulmerich re-designed the high treble clappers
(upper 6's to C8) to give them better voicing capability in the soft and
medium range. They also added a small hole at the medium setting on the
clappers for the bells lower 6's on down. I'm not sure if the rubberized
material is less dense as well. Try to avoid setting the clappers where
there is the least amount of rubber around the bronze clapper core - in
other words, the "points" of the hexagonal core. Theoretically, this would
be the hardest setting of all. However, you can run the risk of cracking
the casting, especially if the rubber cracks and falls away, leaving that
sharp point exposed.
If you have questions or problems and you would like to pick my brain, feel
free. I'll do my best.
Happy Ringing!
a conscious effort to recruit reps with handbell experience. There is a
wide variety among us. I recall a meeting at the home office where some of
us were talking about attending Distinctly Bronze, our favorite handbell
music, etc. and I heard one of the older reps say, "They actually play these
things!" Sigh...
Yes, the vendor who makes our handles changed the composition of the plastic
a couple of years ago without advising the company, leading to a rash of
handle failures. This problem was resolved and Schulmerich changed
procedures at the factory to better trace such problems in the future (God
forbid). However, there are still some handles out there. As a rule of
thumb, if your handles have the black neoprene blocks, they are newer style
handles. If they fail, contact the company to get a warranty replacement.
Also, if you have your bells refurbished by an individual or a company other
than Schulmerich, try to get some documentation on when they purchased the
handles - or any parts, for that matter, so you will have a paper trail when
seeking a warranty replacement. When I do a refurbishment, I order the
parts directly from Schulmerich using the customer's Schulmerich entity
number. This gives both the church and Schulmerich a record of the parts
and Schulmerich invoices the church directly. If circumstances prevent that
procedure, I order the parts I need separately, noting the customer on the
order and presenting them with the packing slip from the order when I
present my refurbishment report.
Regarding the clappers, Schulmerich re-designed the high treble clappers
(upper 6's to C8) to give them better voicing capability in the soft and
medium range. They also added a small hole at the medium setting on the
clappers for the bells lower 6's on down. I'm not sure if the rubberized
material is less dense as well. Try to avoid setting the clappers where
there is the least amount of rubber around the bronze clapper core - in
other words, the "points" of the hexagonal core. Theoretically, this would
be the hardest setting of all. However, you can run the risk of cracking
the casting, especially if the rubber cracks and falls away, leaving that
sharp point exposed.
If you have questions or problems and you would like to pick my brain, feel
free. I'll do my best.
Happy Ringing!
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