Hi David have you been to the bell foundry in Loughborough they make bells of many sizes from Big Ben to hand bells they are all cast in bell metal a hard brass material it cannot be spun but only cast and machined to correct thickness and size to get right tone etc. Have a look at their site looking for small and hand bells. Taylorbells.co.uk well worth a look and visit.

David

I agree that a visit to Taylor's foundry should be interesting

… 'though it must have been the early 70s that I went.

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You may also try contacting Dr. Hibbert, who appears to be rather good on the theoretical side:

**LINK** http://www.hibberts.co.uk/index.htm

MichaelG.

Ian SC how do we know the bell is destined for a cats collar? I have read every word of the previous posts and nowhere is a cat mentioned.

I imagine that after the final tooling the bell would be left in the work hardened state as metal in the annealed state has a dull tone. The reference to the cat was a bit tongue in cheek, and not to belittle your efforts.

Ian S C

Neil, I always say a liberty bell celebrates the fact that we had the good sense to get out of the americas before it all went wrong..

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I suspect that there are two significant 'variables' at work:

1. The spectrum of harmonics [i.e. the tuning of the bell]
2. The stiffness of the material from which it is made [generally speaking, stiffer materials have higher Q]

MichaelG.