Bellmaking

Bellmaking

Bellfounding is the craft of creating bells in a foundry. A practitioner of the craft is called a bellmaker or bellfounder.

Bellfounding

The term bellfounding describes the casting of large bells for use in churches, clocks, and public buildings.

Bells which are rung are usually made by casting bell metal (a high-copper bronze alloy) of a size appropriate for the pitch the bell is intended to produce. Other materials occasionally used are brass or iron.

Fine tuning of metal bells is achieved on a lathe to remove a precise amount of material from the inside of the bell to produce a true tone with correct harmonics. Small cheap bells, of course, do not undergo these steps. Bells are used often in sets in handbell choirs, chimes or carillons and so must be well tuned in order to produce a correct scale of musical notes.

Bellfounders may create one large bell (such as the Liberty Bell). The largest bells weigh several tons and may be to be sounded by swinging only the clapper instead of the entire bell as swinging such large bells would cause structural problems for the towers they are housed in.

Making brass instruments

[
thumb|The_large_brass_bell_of_a_trombone.] The process of making the large open end of a Brass instruments by a process of metal beating may be call bellmaking .In making the bells (open ends) of brass instruments, for example, trumpets, a person lays out a pattern and shapes sheet metal into a bell-shape using templates, machine tools, handtools, and blueprints. The maker cuts out the bell blank, using hand or power shears. He hammers the blank over a bell-shaped mandrel, and butts the seam, using a notching tool. The seam is brazed, using a torch and smoothed using a hammer or file. A draw bench or arbor press equipped with expandable lead plug is used to shape and smooth the bell and bell neck over a mandrel. A lathe is used to spin the bell head and to form a bead at tip of bell head. Previously shaped bell necks are annealed, using a hand torch to soften the metal for further bending. Scratches are removed from the bell using abrasive-coated cloth.

References

* [http://www.vanbergen.com/history.html van Bergen Bells history]
* [http://www.hibberts.co.uk/history.htm The historical development of bell tuning]
* [http://home.swbell.net/csz_stl/towerbells/BellFoundries.html Bell Foundries]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060107/ IMDB - "Andrey Rublyov." (This 1969 movie has a detailed sequence showing the casting of a large bell in 15th Century Russia.)]
*Trevor S. Jenning. "Bellfounding". Hyperion Books (December, 1989). ISBN 0-85263-911-2
*John Llewellin. "Bells & bellfounding: A practical treatise upon church bells". Kingsmead Bookshop, 1969. ASIN: B0007KB71Y
*XYZ. "Bells & bellfounding: A practical treatise upon church bells". Albert Saifer; Facsimile edition (1984). ASIN: B00071V8OE


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bell (instrument) — See also: Tubular bell For the part of a wind instrument, see Wind instrument#Parts. Bell Parts of a typical bell: 1. yoke, 2. crown, 3. head, 4. shoulder, 5. waist …   Wikipedia

  • Motorins — The Motorins, also spelled Matorins (Моторины, Маторины in Russian) were a famous Russian family of bellfounders. Contents 1 Feodor Dmitriyevich Motorin 2 Dmitry Feodorovich Motorin 3 Ivan Feodorovich Motorin …   Wikipedia

  • Trasmiera — Comarca comarca name = Trasmiera location location map size = 200px province = Cantabria capital = Ribamontán al Monte largest city = demonym = trasmerano, a population = 54,954 area = 557.97 pop density = 98.48 municipalities =… …   Wikipedia

  • Brodek u Přerova — is a village in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It is located 9 km northwest of Přerov and has a population of 2,058 (2006). The first written mention of Brodek dates back to 1301. Today the village is known for bellmaking. Bells of… …   Wikipedia

  • Sinn, Hesse — Infobox Ort in Deutschland Name = Sinn Wappen = Wappen Sinn (Hessen).png lat deg = 50 |lat min = 39 lon deg = 08 |lon min = 20 Lageplan = Lahn Dill Kreis Sinn.png Bundesland = Hessen Regierungsbezirk = Gießen Landkreis = Lahn Dill Kreis Höhe =… …   Wikipedia

  • Patron saints of occupations and activities — A list of Patron saints of occupations, activities and communication mediums: A*Adrian of Nicomedia arms dealers, butchers, guards, soldiers *Agatha nurses, bellmaking *Albertus Magnus natural scientists *Alexander of Comana charcoal burners [… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”