[Bell Historians] Harrington and Latham Tubes - what are they made from??

[Carl S Zimmerman csz_stl@swbell.net [bellhistorians]]

As the writer of the quoted material, I can say with certainty that it is NOT authoritative - merely my best guess, based partly on the fact that the patina on the old Durfee, Harrington and Deagan tower tubes that I have seen is about the same color as that on old conventional tower bells.  But I have never seen an analysis,  either qualitative or a quantitative, of the metal, and so I do not know for sure.

However, I was recently told by an old friend in the bell business that Deagan tower tubes were centrifugally cast from a mixture of 60% copper and 40% zinc.  This means that they are brass and not bronze, and certainly not the variety of bronze that we call "bell metal."  Whether that holds true for tubes made by Harrington or Durfee I do not yet know.

Let's hope that this discussion prompts someone who has access to a discarded Harrington tube to submit it to an analytical metallurgist for study!

 
Carl Scott Zimmerman
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA -
- 19th c. home of at least 36 bell founders or resellers
Tel. +1(314)821-8437
Webmaster for www.TowerBells.org
*  Avocation:   tower bells
*  Recreation:  handbells
*  Mission:     church bells


>________________________________
> From: "chester at michaelchester4.orangehome.co.uk [bellhistorians]" <bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com>
>To: bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com 
>Sent: Monday, July 28, 2014 5:28 AM
>Subject: [Bell Historians] Re: Harrington and Latham Tubes - what are they made from??
> 
>
>
>http://www.towerbells.org/TubularBells  States
>
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>"Large tubular bells, cast from the approximately the same material as conventional tower bells or drawn (extruded) from similar metal, have been used to make tower music or to serve as bells for tower clocks."
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>How authoritative this is I am not certain
>
>
>Mike
>
> 
>   Tubular tower bells  
>Navigation:   TowerBells Home  => Tower Bells Introduction   => Tubular Bells Tubular tower bells   
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>Posted by: chester at michaelchester4.orangehome.co.uk
>
>
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