[Bell Historians] welding bells

[Richard Offen]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "David Bryant" 
<davidbryant at h...> wrote:
> > 18th (and very early 19th) century Whitechapel bells have a very 
great propensity for cracking.
> 
> Are the staple roots square in section with the consequent likelihood 
of cracking at the corners? Bilbie bells have horrible rectangular 
roots deeply embedded in the crown - Several years ago, I assisted a 
bellhanger in digging the large roots out of the crown of the Bilbie 
11th at St Mary's in Taunton. Having seen these, I'm surprised that 
crown cracks are not a frequent problem with Bilbie bells - it doesn't 
seem to be a common problem, though.
> 
> David

Yes, Dunstan also had a huge crown splitting square staple which, no 
doubt, caused a million hairline fractures in the bell metal and 
contributed to the present crack.

R