[Bell Historians] Bronze bells for clocking?

Thank you for your input.

Is there much difference between Whitechapel and Taylor? Though I
know little about any of the bell foundries, it does appears that
Whitechapel is almost more of a tourist attraction/momento maker. 
Other foundries, particularly the Dutch foundries seem far more driven
by technology and production. Just my observation though.

I wasn't aware that cast bronze had a "skin." Would this be a scale
or slagging, or an actual metallurgical difference due to differing
cooling rates on the surface of the casting?

I believe it was Petit&Fritsen who first applied computerized finite
element analysis to bells which, allwed them to do a more accurate and
thurough job of tuning a bell. However I would guess all major
foundries now use FEA, but there have been differing levels of
"tuning" in the past.

The existing bells do sound a bit rough. It will be nice to replace them.

Thanks again.



--- In bellhistorians at y..., "David Bryant" <djb122 at y...> wrote:
> The foundries will all provide bells tuned with true harmonics, and
although
> there are differences in the tuning of bells by different founders
chosing
> one is largely a matter of personal preference. Of the two English
> foundries, Taylor's are slightly cheaper than Whitechapel; I'm not
sure how
> the European foundries compare price-wise.
> 
> Some of the European founders (e.g. Eijsbouts) tune their bells to a
golden
> shine. This removes the hard outer skin of the bells, and some
suggest that
> it makes them more prone to corrosion. Whether this is true I cannot
say -
> all of the Eijbsouts bells I have seen are relatively new (less than 20
> years old) and so haven't had time to corrode much.
> 
> Whatever foundry you choose, the bells which they will supply are almost
> certainly going to show a big tonal improvement over what you have at
> present. The nineteenth century bellfounders were among the worst in the
> history of the craft, and unfortunately also the most prolific!
> 
> David
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <slobandito at y...>
> To: <bellhistorians at y...>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 09, 2002 8:06 PM
> Subject: [Bell Historians] Bronze bells for clocking?
> 
> 
> > I ring three bronze bells at my church. About 12 patterns altogether,
> > fron the Angelus to the Call to Worship and the Gloria. The bells
> > remain static, while the clappers are "clocked." The current bells
> > date from the 18th and 19th century and there is talk about placing
> > them in the parish museum and replacing them with 4 new bells (we have
> > an open portal right now).
> >
> > Who makes the best bells in terms of tone and durability? Whose bells
> > are the best value? I would particularly like to know about:
> > Eijsbouts, John Taylor, Paccard, Petit & Fritsen and Whitechapel.
> >
> > Obviously we do not have a carillon or a chime, so pefrectly tuned
> > bell may not be as important as durability and price
> >
> > Any information would be deeply appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks very much;
> >
> > L.
> >
> >
> >
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