Help me diagnose a bad bell

[TimR]

I have a bad D5.

It's not part of the regular set, but has been sitting in the choir library for an unknown time.  Today I needed one bell and wanted to avoid getting out the set

But it rang so badly I couldn't use it.

Here's an example:  https://app.box.com/s/ly31r2fpq4dvu05586sk

I took the clapper out and tapped all round the bell; some places ring at D5 and others at C#5

There are no obvious cracks, dents, or bulges

The clapper assembly is also a bit unusual; I have not seen a Schulmerich bell with a metal spring before, looks almost like a Malmark clapper maybe?  Or were older bells made that way sometimes? 

https://app.box.com/s/d2881rdaewg9yk45yi6r

Those are boxnet links, no sign-in needed 
I use boxnet for sharing files

[F Simpson]

Yeah, that's a cracked bell.

Shulmeric used to use cooper springs, so it may be those. Also, is might be cracked under the tang at the top of the bell.

Thomas

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[Nicholas Barnard]

Yup, I’m with Thomas, thats most likely a cracked bell, but you might also want to take the clapper out and the handle off so you just have the casting and suspend (some rope/ or yarn?) it and see if you get the same sound when you gently mallet it. What you’re trying to do is to isolate if the casting has an issue or if the casting is rubbing up against something on the yoke/handle that is causing the problem.

I’ve seen bells have hairline cracks that can do all sorts of interesting things with the sound. If that MP3 is ringing the bell with the clapper, you might also just have old clappers.  The other question is does it ring at a D5 when you mallet it opposite the strike point?

Although I’m curious, looking at the picture, there seems to be a crack in the casting in the upper part of the image, just to the right of center, although it might also just be a bit of corrosion?

Finally, if you’re keeping this casting you might want to polish the inside with Flitz liquid polish or paste polish. In any case, wash the casting with Palmolive and hot water (has hot as you can stand.) and immediately dry them with Viva paper towels. 

Nick

[Lauren Sanders]

Nick, why those specific products?

Laurie "just curious"

[Nicholas Barnard]

Morn’n Laurie,

From what I’ve gathered its a matter of gentleness in those products. I received this advise from people associated with Schulmerich and I’ve also done it with my own bells.

Nick

[Lauren Sanders]

Thanks!

Laurie "I've lots of ucky bells to clean"

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[Michele Sharik]

Remember to wash them before you paste polish. Otherwise you just rub the dirt into the bell. 

It's the same reason you wash the car before waxing it. 

-M

Sent from my iPhone

[TimR]

I will try cleaning and polishing it.  Maybe the dirt is obscuring a crack, or maybe it is too small to be seen easily. 

 

The mp3 I posted was from ringing the assembled bell.  I also disassembled it and suspended it from a string, that's how I noticed different places ring different pitches - but that may be true of other bells as well. 

 

When I ring it that way, there is a tiny noise as the tone decays that I can only describe as a faint scrape or screech.  That does sound like my image of a cracked bell. 

 

I'm still curious about that metal spring.  I haven't seen one like that.   

[Judith C. Phillips]

That is definitely a cracked bell!  No wonder it hasn’t been being used.  It’s a very distinctive and unpleasant sound.

It’s an older Schulmerich.  The copper springs were standard until the ‘80’s.  They were replaced because they had a bad habit of breaking between the rehearsal and performance, especially on the larger bells  ☹  Some of our 7s still have them- we haven’t bothered to replace them because they work fine.  I would never dare to leave one on a 4 or 5, though.  I have too many memories of frantic spring changes!

Judy Phillips

…playing Schullies since 1975, and repairing them nearly as long……

Sent from Windows Mail

[TimR]

On Monday, July 28, 2014 7:59:17 AM UTC-4, Judith C. Phillips wrote:

That is definitely a cracked bell!  No wonder it hasn’t been being used.  It’s a very distinctive and unpleasant sound.

 

 

If I could find the crack, I'd see if I could fix it with a little JBWeld. 

 

<g> 

 

 

[Stephanie Wiltse]

I actually saw a cracked WC bell that had been repaired with some kind of dental filling material. IIRC, it didn't work out too well,

Stevie in Grand Rapids

 

 

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[TimR]

I would have thought there would be a sign of impact hard enough to crack a casting.

 

Maybe I'll bring this bell to rehearsals for show and tell, for what happens when you don't mart the way I tell you.   

[Merry]

Does someone have a third octave of bells for sale???? Please email me

Merry
Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 28, 2014, at 11:26 AM, "'TimR' via Handbell-l" <handb...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I would have thought there would be a sign of impact hard enough to crack a casting.

 

Maybe I'll bring this bell to rehearsals for show and tell, for what happens when you don't mart the way I tell you.   

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[Nancy Tipton]

I store a cracked C3 choirchime in my cabinet for show-and-tell purposes when teenage boys try to prove their manhood by ringing bass chimes too loudly...all I have to do is ring it once, and everyone groans and shudders. Much more effective than nagging!

Nancy Tipton 

Sent from my iPad

On Jul 28, 2014, at 2:26 PM, "'TimR' via Handbell-l" <handb...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I would have thought there would be a sign of impact hard enough to crack a casting.

 

Maybe I'll bring this bell to rehearsals for show and tell, for what happens when you don't mart the way I tell you.   

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[Silver Woodbury]

I concur that your problem bell is an old bell with a bronze spring and the pitch problem is probably the reason why it wasn’t located with the set.  It’s hard to diagnose a bell from a recording, but that does sound like a cracked casting.

 

Most commonly, cracks form from nicks around the rim of the casting and they usually make a buzzing noise.  However, I have seen bells with cracks in unusual places.  One was a 5^th octave bass bell with a 2” long vertical crack starting at about 1” AWAY from the rim of the casting going up toward the waist of the casting.  IIRC, it wasn’t located near the clapper strike (front or backring) areas either.  It made what I can best describe as a “breathy” sound when it rang, but it didn’t buzz and it wasn’t off-pitch.  There was no dent around it and no other signs of “bell abuse.”  I’ve seen a C5 bell with a small dent and crack (about ½” long) oriented diagonally across the bell between the waist and the crown.  There was no perceptible buzz or any other noise and no pitch problem.  I didn’t notice it until I cleaned and polished the bell.  As I looked more closely, it was obvious that something was dropped on the bell as it laid on the table or in the case.  I’ve also seen an F5 bell with a large chip out of the rim of the casting (it looked like someone took a bite out of the bell)!  The top of the chip was about ¼” below the level of the clapper strike and it was located on the side of the bell – not directly on the strikepoint or backring sides where the clapper would strike, but halfway between.  Other than the obvious hunk missing from the bell, it sounded fine to the naked ear!  When I was a youth and the first B2 bells started coming out, the first 2 we received cracked the first time we rang them – no excess force or horsing around, just normal ringing.  As the old saying goes…”stuff happens!”

 

In most cases that I know of, problem bells are returned to the factory for evaluation and possible warranty replacement.  However, when you know the bell was dropped or the abuse is blatantly evident, you know you just have to buy a new bell.  In those cases, I think it’s a great idea to “repurpose” problem bells like this.  They can be used as examples of this-is-why-we-do/don’t-do-this.  Also, you can make dedication/memorial bells out of them as well to display in memory/honor of someone important to the bell program.  I have one (G4-ish) that I removed the yoke and clapper.  I put a nut on the handle screw so I could leave the handle and disk on it.  I can display it as a silent bell, but I usually lay it on a pillow and put individually wrapped candies in it so they spill out of it like a “bellucopia.”  I often put it on the table where we display our concert programs when we perform.

 

Silver

 

Silver Woodbury | Artistic Director | Oklahoma City Handbell Ensemble, Inc.
PO Box 721578 | Oklahoma City, OK 73172-1578

Mobile: 405-519-0331 | Fax: 405-212-4899

sil...@okcbells.com | www.okcbells.com

 

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[TimR]

Thanks for all the information.

I took your advice and cleaned and polished it.

I couldn't see it before doing that, but now I've found evidence of impact.  There is a small ding on the lip of the bell, as if it had been dropped or banged on something hard, and a hairline crack extending from the rim up about 3/4 of an inch.  About an inch away from that there is a chip out of the surface of the bell, about 1/4 inch long and maybe a 1/16th wide, where the polished surface is gone.  Both defects were very hard to see until the bell had been well polished.