[Bell Historians] [c-r] Any any any old iron

[Carl S Zimmerman]

Pursuant to yesterday's forwarded message from Elaine Phillips of 
Randwick, about the actual content of "steel" bells, I did some 
investigating and found the following:

>From the "About Metals Glossary" on about.com:
"Cast Iron: A definition can be applied that Cast Iron is an alloy 
of iron and carbon in which the carbon is in excess of the amount 
that can be retained in solid solution in austenite at the eutectic 
temperature. Carbon is usually present in the range of 1.8% to 4.5%, 
in addition, silicon, manganese, sulphur and phosphorus are contained 
in varying amounts. Various types of cast iron are covered by a 
British Standard classification and includes grey, malleable and 
white irons. Elements such as nickel, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium 
can be added to produce alloy cast irons."
"Steel: Generally defined as a metallic product whose principal 
element is iron and where the carbon content is not more than 2%. 
(The presence of large quantities of carbide forming elements may 
modify the upper limit of the carbon content.)"
"Cast Steel: A term originally applied to crucible steel and 
sometimes today used to describe tool steels. The term is misleading 
and is falling into misuse. It can also be applied to steel castings 
made by pouring molten steel into a mould but which are not subject 
to further forging or rolling."

The statement about Randwick's bells by Rob Keir is clearly 
consistent with these rather general definitions. But there is more 
to be learned.

A fascinating and somewhat amusing history of the development of 
steel can be found here:
http://www.techfak.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/advanced/t5_1_4.html
This is an English translation of an article originally written in 
German, so a little knowledge of German sentence structure will 
undoubtedly help you to understand some details. So will a bit of 
general technical background. However, even if you don't have either 
of those, this is written with such a clever touch that almost anyone 
with a healthy bit of curiosity about our world and our society will 
find it worth reading.
Although the article doesn't touch directly on cast steel, and only 
mentions cast iron briefly in passing, one can readily see that in 
the late 1800s (when most "steel" bells were cast), the metallurgy of 
iron was in a great state of flux. Quite possibly the modern 
definition of "steel" had not yet solidified. Still, there is an 
enormous variety of alloys and mixtures that can fall within the 
nomenclature of "steel". (Compare the stainless steel pots in your 
kitchen with a railroad rail, for example.)

As I see it, the problem with using the word "iron" for various 
metallic alloys and mixtures is that "iron" is also (and without 
argument) the name of an element--indeed, the element which is the 
principal component of every variety of steel that exists. So 
calling something "cast iron" makes it seem as if the casting was 
made by the simplest possible process operating on the raw material.

However, if one examines the actual use of iron in tower bells of the 
19th and early 20th c., one finds that the makers of such bells very 
carefully distinguished the material in their bells from the material 
in the fittings of the bells. Uprights [think of A-shaped side 
frames] and yokes were typically made of ordinary cast iron. But the 
bells themselves were made of "crystal metal" (the mass-produced 
American farm bells), or "steel alloy" (the larger school and church 
bells), or using "E.Riepe's patent" (Naylor-Vickers bells).

The difference is apparent to the eye, as well. When one examines an 
old iron-based bell that has been exposed to the weather, it is 
almost always the case that the castings used in its support are much 
more badly corroded than the bell itself. While the material of the 
bell may not be recognized by modern metallurgists as sufficiently 
similar to modern steel to be classified as such, it certainly 
differs from ordinary "cast iron".

So I'll stick to calling bells made principally of iron "cast steel".

-- 
=Carl Scott Zimmerman= Co-Webmaster: http://www.gcna.org/
Voicemail: +1-314-361-5194 (home) mailto:csz_stl at s...
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - 19th c. home of up to 32 bell foundries