I've found an old brass hand bell at my mother's house. It's about 70mm mouth diameter and 50mm deep.
The clapper is missing, but there is an iron loop for it to be hung on. I can turn up an clapper easy enough but should it in brass or iron, and how long should it be - ie is there any optimal point at which it should strike the flare of the bell?
I think most bells like this have an iron clapper, usually hanging from a long single link "chain". I would have thought that where it's struck before would be fairly apparent. Isn't this visible?
The ones I have seen on working hand bells were iron. If it has been used, there ought to be marks on the inside of the bell showing where the old one used to hit. Otherwise, I would try around the start of the flare.
Enter the town and it will give you details of the diocesan guld (website). Follw that and you'll find details of all the ringing groups in the area, and contacts.
Are you talking about a hand bell or a handbell? They are not the same.
The former is something you might find on a shop counter to summon attention - and will have a loose clapper which can move in all directions.
The second is one of a set of percussion instruments for playing tunes. This will have a hinged clapper with some damping in its movement so as to only play a single note each time it is shaken. See
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The answer to your question will probably depend on which type you have.
I can turn up an clapper easy enough but should it in brass or iron, and ho w long should it be - ie is there any optimal point at which it should stri ke the flare of the bell?
I suspect if you had it analysed you'd find it's actually bronze (copper/ti n) rather than brass (copper zinc). The alloy used for bells has rather hig her tin content than the alloys usually met with in other contexts, so it l ooks yellowish rather than the slightly pink tinge often associated with br onze. The higher tin content makes it harder, but more brittle. I found a similar bell among my Great-Aunt's effects, and though I can't lo cate it just at the moment I recall the clapper being slightly rusty...
I have one with a porcelain handle an I think it was used as a dinner bell. can't find it at the moment but it was a substantial size bell,not one of those fiddley sized ones.
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