A speculation about Taylors, profiles and true-harmonic tuning

[oakcroft13]

Here's four thoughts, taken together, that lead to an interesting 
speculation:

1) David Bryant tells me that Taylors changed their profiles in the 
middle / late 1920s.

2) Steve Ivin reminds me that to talk about tierce tuning is a 
misnomer, the position of the tierce relative to the nominal is 
really set by the design of the bell and the tuner can't do very much 
about it on the tuning machine.

3) The investigation I did the other day showed that Taylors still 
had sharp tierces in 1913.

4) Looking at single bells (I don't have enough recordings of 
complete peals yet), two bells from 1921 (Kingston, Dorset) have 
sharp tierces, bells from 1928 (Newcastle Cathedral), 1931 (Bromham) 
and 1934 (Hazelbury Bryan, Dorset) all have flatter tierces very 
close to the minor third. Scably, N. Yorks (3 bells, 1961) and 
Tewkesbury Abbey (12, 1962) also have the minor third tierces.

I wonder if the profile change in the '20s was needed to get the 
tierces to the theoretical value?

I need lots more recordings . . .

Time for bed!

Bill H