something eatin my handles

[TimR]

Tonight after replacing the spring on Bb 4, I noticed the edge of the handle was all chewed up.  Numerous small chips or gouges made it uncomfortable to hold.  If you weren't wearing gloves it would be very abrasive on the hands.

Checking the rest, I found quite a few like that.

What causes that?  They are stored securely in the Schulmerich cases.  I imagine they get bumped by the rim of an adjacent bell occasionally, but is that really enough to damage them?  

What's the cure, fine sandpaper?  

[Silver Woodbury]

Tim, watch your ringer.  I suspect they are crowding their bells together (and have been for some time now) and keep hitting the edges of the handles with the rims of the castings of C5 and B4.   It can happen when the bells are hastily loaded into the cases, but the condition you describe sounds like more chronic contact has been taking place.  Take a look at C#5, too.

 

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

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[TimR]

That was my thought, too, but I wasn't sure they hit hard enough to do that much damage.

I guess when I think about it, the edges of a bell are pretty sharp.

 

What do you think about a light sanding to smooth them out? 

[Silver Woodbury]

Yes, the rims of the casting are sharp and brittle.  This contact isn’t doing your castings any favors, either.  If you run your finger along the rims of C5 and B4, I suspect they have nicks in them as well.  Cracks can form from these nicks. 

 

The handles have a clear overlay that bears the little bell symbol and the pitch designation on it (and the gold braid, if the handles on your diatonic/natural bells have it).  I don’t know if a light sanding will cause this overlay to start peeling, so I wouldn’t advise it.  You may be thinking, “Why aren’t the handles made of something sturdier?”  Think about it – if they were, they could cause more damage to the castings, which are much more expensive to replace! 

 

If you would like to continue this dialog, please respond privately.

 

Thanks!

[TimR]

I'll watch the ringers for this.

 

Not that I don't watch them!  but obviously I haven't paid attention to this aspect.

 

When I lay out bells myself, I put the accidentals somewhat forward of the other bells.  But, they are never so far forward that a rim could contact a handle, and most of the time there isn't room to spare on the bell tables to get bells much farther forward.  Hmm.  Have to watch and see.

[TimR]

I think I may have solved the mystery, and be able to prevent future damage.

I had a quick bell repair to do tonight, broken spring on another of the 4s, just before rehearsal.  

It's a Schulmerich, so the handle comes off with an Allen (hex socket head) screw.  There's no ball end driver in our tool kit, just the standard right angle hex wrench.  

If the wrench is inserted with the short end in, you can break loose a very tight fastener, but you can't spin it very far before you hit the handle.  If you insert it vertically, long end down, you can spin it all the way around, BUT unless you're very careful to bend/spread the handle, you're going to make contact with the short end of the wrench on the handle, and all the nicks seem to be about one Allen length away from the bell.  

I now think that over many years (this bell set is probably 30 years old) enough repairs have been done, and the wrench been used inside the handle enough, that this accounts for all the nicks.  

I did watch ringers carefully, and didn't see/ anyone being careless enough to be causing handle damage, so I now blame this on the repairs.  I'm probably responsible myself (I'll take far more care in the future) but I'm just one in a long series of directors.  

[Mickey Johnson]

Tim: you can buy a 5/32 ball driver at any hardware store for a couple of bucks. Much easier to use than the allen wrench.

--

[Heitz Handbells]

Agreed. I went to a good hardware store and bought our choir 2 long handled ball drivers.  No nicks/no cuts.

 

Carol

 

Carol A. Scheel, Norm P. Heitz
Heitz Handbells and Music LLC
612-208-1741
1 (877 or 866) 426-3235
www.heitzhandbells.com

From: Mickey Johnson <bellma...@gmail.com>
To: handb...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 8:02 PM

Subject: Re: [HB-L] something eatin my handles

Tim: you can buy a 5/32 ball driver at any hardware store for a couple of bucks. Much easier to use than the allen wrench.

On Mar 19, 2013 8:52 PM, "TimR" <timot...@aol.com> wrote:

I think I may have solved the mystery, and be able to prevent future damage.

I had a quick bell repair to do tonight, broken spring on another of the 4s, just before rehearsal.  

It's a Schulmerich, so the handle comes off with an Allen (hex socket head) screw.  There's no ball end driver in our tool kit, just the standard right angle hex wrench.  

If the wrench is inserted with the short end in, you can break loose a very tight fastener, but you can't spin it very far before you hit the handle.  If you insert it vertically, long end down, you can spin it all the way around, BUT unless you're very careful to bend/spread the handle, you're going to make contact with the short end of the wrench on the handle, and all the nicks seem to be about one Allen length away from the bell.  

I now think that over many years (this bell set is probably 30 years old) enough repairs have been done, and the wrench been used inside the handle enough, that this accounts for all the nicks.  

I did watch ringers carefully, and didn't see/ anyone being careless enough to be causing handle damage, so I now blame this on the repairs.  I'm probably responsible myself (I'll take far more care in the future) but I'm just one in a long series of directors.  

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[TimR]

Of course that makes sense - now!  

On Tuesday, March 19, 2013 9:25:40 PM UTC-4, Carol wrote:

Agreed. I went to a good hardware store and bought our choir 2 long handled ball drivers.  No nicks/no cuts.

 

Carol

 

Carol A. Scheel, Norm P. Heitz
Heitz Handbells and Music LLC
612-208-1741
1 (877 or 866) 426-3235
www.heitzhandbells.com

From: Mickey Johnson <bellma...@gmail.com>
To: handb...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 8:02 PM
Subject: Re: [HB-L] something eatin my handles

Tim: you can buy a 5/32 ball driver at any hardware store for a couple of bucks. Much easier to use than the allen wrench.

On Mar 19, 2013 8:52 PM, "TimR" <timot...@aol.com> wrote:

I think I may have solved the mystery, and be able to prevent future damage.

I had a quick bell repair to do tonight, broken spring on another of the 4s, just before rehearsal.  

It's a Schulmerich, so the handle comes off with an Allen (hex socket head) screw.  There's no ball end driver in our tool kit, just the standard right angle hex wrench.  

If the wrench is inserted with the short end in, you can break loose a very tight fastener, but you can't spin it very far before you hit the handle.  If you insert it vertically, long end down, you can spin it all the way around, BUT unless you're very careful to bend/spread the handle, you're going to make contact with the short end of the wrench on the handle, and all the nicks seem to be about one Allen length away from the bell.  

I now think that over many years (this bell set is probably 30 years old) enough repairs have been done, and the wrench been used inside the handle enough, that this accounts for all the nicks.  

I did watch ringers carefully, and didn't see/ anyone being careless enough to be causing handle damage, so I now blame this on the repairs.  I'm probably responsible myself (I'll take far more care in the future) but I'm just one in a long series of directors.  

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