dangerous bells

[Laura Dickerson]

This was in the Campanophile story about F. Stedman's home church.

"Yarkhill was his birthplace. The current four bells are of historic 
interest , but to tune them would render them dangerous."

What does that mean?  In my imagination, the bells would be  so annoyed 
at being re-tuned that they would  start swinging on their own, 
endangering anyone who approached the belfry.  That probably isn't the 
answer.  Does it mean that retuning would remove so much metal that the 
bells would be likely to crack, fall from the fittings, and hit someone 
on the head?  I don't think that's it, either.
I can see how retuning a bell could endanger a bell, but not how it 
could make one dangerous.

Laura Dickerson

           
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