[Bell Historians] Steel bells

[davidhird_uk]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "David Bryant" 
<davidbryant at h...> wrote:
> Re Thornborough. Eayre & Smith rehung the bells in all new 
fittings in a cast-iron frame. Before that they hung with the NV 
fittings in a 4 bell frame adapted for 5. They were certainly shot-
blasted to remove rust & muck, then painted black with "Waxoyl"; 
they were not tuned; and as far as I remember they retain their 
flange heads. So the original weight - as I say quoted from their 
original legtters and invoice - can stand, unless anyone knows 
better. It is a good job.
> 
> I'm pretty sure the flange tops do remain - whether the original 
weights are still accurate must depend to some extent on how much 
the bells have rusted!
> 
> I remember a very cold day several years ago when the Bassaleg 
bells were sandblasted. We loaded them into the back of a lorry and 
they were taken to a local garage. After being done, they were 
loaded back into the lorry and brought back to the industrial unit 
where they were stored. I have some photos somewhere of them 
immediately after sandblasting - they are all a dull grey colour, 
and not particularly corroded - much of the original surface 
remains. By the time they were again loaded into a lorry and taken 
to the museum in Sheffield where they now hang, they had regained a 
patina of rust - it was only a week or two after sandblasting and 
they were stored under cover, but it was February and very damp. The 
museum did consider coating them with some solution to prevent them 
rusting, but decided against it.
> 
> I gather that when hung for ringing they were considered quite 
good for steel bells, but when chimed in their present location they 
sound absolutely foul!
> 
> David

I rang on the old steel Bassaleg bells and thought they were one of 
the best steel rings and the nearest to normal bells in sound. A 
great tragedy that they ended up the way they did rather than being 
rehung somewhere,

David