chyancarrek Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 A recent quickie for a client who wanted a "come & get it" bell for an upcoming family BBQ event. They wanted something a bit different than the usual triangle so this was one of those "hmmm, let's see how this turns out" kind of projects. Forged it out of some old coil spring I had laying around. Not quite as loud as a triangle but it's got a great tone to it. The clapper has a small magnet in the end of the thong so all they have to do is give it a tug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 That is a good solution. Nice to have a client that knows how to ask for what they want. The little touch of leather sets it off quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 ive made a few different bells ..heart and cleftnote are popular and an occasional apple is fun also... most dont seem to ring as good as a simple triangle tho..... interesting shape...haave fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 The tone and loudness of a dinner gong has so much to do with the thickness of the metal used. If you jump up from 1/2 inch stock to 1 inch stock it will be surprising. A friend got a hold of some 1 1/2 inch round rod that was from some jet fighter landing gear struts - so some high-tech alloy. He made a few classic dinner triangle gongs from it. It had the most perfect beautiful tone you ever heard - except from a formal bell. And LOUD ta boot! Alas, he only got those couple pieces of scrap. And Jay over at Big River Forge has made several large garden "gongs" from old 100# LP gas tanks. He "carefully" cut the bottoms off, and threaded in some pipe to form a hanger from the top. Then a simple pair of slanted 4x4's to hold it between a 1/2" plate bottom and and smaller version top plate turned it into a great garden/patio gong/bell. A rubber mallet hung from a hook on one of the uprights finished out the project. The tone was a lot like the large bells you hear in the Japanese temples. Bells/gongs are always popular. Just keep in mind where you hang one for display around your shop. Kids LUV to play them! Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Nice solution for the, "I want something different" request. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 A bit like a large tuning fork. Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 The tone and loudness of a dinner gong has so much to do with the thickness of the metal used. If you jump up from 1/2 inch stock to 1 inch stock it will be surprising. A friend got a hold of some 1 1/2 inch round rod that was from some jet fighter landing gear struts - so some high-tech alloy. He made a few classic dinner triangle gongs from it. It had the most perfect beautiful tone you ever heard - except from a formal bell. And LOUD ta boot! Alas, he only got those couple pieces of scrap. And Jay over at Big River Forge has made several large garden "gongs" from old 100# LP gas tanks. He "carefully" cut the bottoms off, and threaded in some pipe to form a hanger from the top. Then a simple pair of slanted 4x4's to hold it between a 1/2" plate bottom and and smaller version top plate turned it into a great garden/patio gong/bell. A rubber mallet hung from a hook on one of the uprights finished out the project. The tone was a lot like the large bells you hear in the Japanese temples. Bells/gongs are always popular. Just keep in mind where you hang one for display around your shop. Kids LUV to play them! Mikey what was the length of the bottle when he was finished, that has a direct effect on how it resonates. I have experimented with nitrogen bottles, and was wondering how long he made the bell, if there might be a ratio of height to diameter?? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 I've made a bunch of dinner bells and usually heat the bends for the triangle with a torch. Even when done in mild steel, quenching the corners from a red will change the tone markedly. As Mike said, the size of the stock also makes a difference. The largest ones I ever made were 36" on each leg from 1" round mild steel. Working ranches used to buy them because the tone could be heard for a couple miles on a quiet day (although cell phones have now made those obsolete). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triw Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 chyancarrek nice job and unique design. great use of something laying around. I made a few dinner bells that look like dutch ovens great ring very nice for camp cooks. I also saw one that outlined a pig for bbq fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 For the big garden gongs, Jay would leave them as long as he could. They had a deep resonating tone. But Jay also made some smaller ones from large hand-held fire extinguisher bottles. If you cut the bottoms off, you can work a hanger from the threaded top. If you cut the top off, you need to weld on a chain loop on the bottom to hang them. They give a surprisingly good tone when tapped with a wood handle. I still have one top cut off of a 100# lp cylinder - cut off just where the rounded top meets the straight sides. With a short length of pipe in it, you still get a clear tone - but higher pitched. And it also works pretty good as a floor stand as well - all that weight of just the tank top. With a plate welded onto the bottom and filled with sand, it would be a pretty solid stand - probably at least 50#'s worth. But that full length LP tank had the "tone" of those old temple bells/gongs from Japanese shrines. Add in a little "artistic" design for a holder, and it made a great centerpiece for a garden. I don't remember if Jay had any pictures of it on his web site. He might ... Big River Companies Mikey - that grumpy ol' german blacksmith out in the Hinterlands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Every time I see a pressure tank bell it's hanging from the top and either struck with a mallet from outside or a clapper. What I want to do is build a stand to support it from the center with a shaft running up from the ground to the inside of where the valve threaded in. Then rig an external clapper on a spring. It'd be an inside out bell . . . Sort of. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Simple enough to do, Frosty. You already have that threaded top where the valves were. Just put your threaded pipe or rod up into it. Now, you would probably get better volume if it was a little more ... free standing. So a rubber "bushing" slipped onto the support rod, and then the tank slipped down onto that "bushing" to support it. I'll have to test out that one section I have tomorrow - to see how the pipe threads in from the inside, and then how it sounds. I might have to chase some threads a little farther into the thank. We shall see. Hmmm ... interesting concept. Garden "mushroom" gongs! Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old South Creations Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Neat...I like your design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thanks all! I spoke with the client yesterday and the the bell went over really well. She said they had had to put it up out of reach of the kids to keep them from running around the yard ringing it constantly - Exactly what Mike said about kids loving them Frosty-Mike, I like your "up through the center" idea for the tank bell. If you put one together, make sure to post pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Jr. Strassil (irnsrgn) has an ox cyl section as an entry bell for his shop. Its mounted above the door and the door flips a spring loaded clanger when you open it. Man its loud!! Scared the bajeezus out of me first time I entered his shop LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I made a bell for a church's sunday school classes several years ago. I use the top section 30 cu. ft. high pressure cylinder. I got one of my friends to mount it in his lathe and take a light pass through the inside and the out side to remove some of the rust pits and make it more uniform. After sanding and polishing the out side lightly I painted an abstract seascape looking design with multiple washes of gun blueing around the cylinder. I finished it off with several coats of automotive clear coat. To isolate the hardware supporting bell I padded the bolt's washers with the felts used to prevent furniture from marring floors. I found that a golfball mounted on the end of a ash handle produced the best and clearest tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Aaaah, such a simple little project to play with today. I should have known better. First, the cylinder top is from a junker CO2 tank, not an LP tank. (that flaky memory stuff) Then my big tap/die set is still down at my folk's place - along with most of my spare 1" pipe fittings. So I couldn't chase the threads on through into the inside of the tank. And I had to scrounge around for a short length of 1" threaded pipe and something to cap it with. Ended up using an old T, but had to locate a reducer to fit the 1" pipe. Then scrounge up an iron bar that would slip up into that pipe. So here's a pic of the result. Far from a ... finished ... product, but it shows the potential. I used some 5/8 hex rod pushed into the ground, and slid the "bell" down onto it - with the rod sticking up inside that pipe. No special rubber padding or anything else to isolate it from vibrating. It rings LOUD and TRUE! It will ring even with me hanging onto that pipe on top, or even with my hand on the outside of the "bell". But touching/gripping it inside dulls the tone. So a capped off short length of pipe on top, and set down on an iron rod wil lwork. I suspect that chasing the threads on through into the tank and threading that 1" pipe up from the inside will work just as well. And then that pipe can be welded to a base plate, or screwed into a pipe flange and then attached to a wood/stone/cement/iron base plate. But, until I get those threads extended all the way into the inside of the tank, I just can't know quite for sure. Fun project. I can easily see a grouping of these ... mushroom bells out in a garden. Different sizes made from an LP tank, or some of those large fire extinguisher tanks. Fun stuff to ... play with ... Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands p.s. Now if only the problem with the neighbor "claiming" our field drive (that we allowed him to use as a driveway) as his own property could so easily be settled. I'm afraid an official survey of that portion of the property line will be needed. And all because he doesn't want us to plant corn in our field right out in front of his picture window. He never complained about the cows grazing that field. But now he is denying us access through our own driveway to our own field. This was the OTHER distraction this afternoon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillyP Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 It'd be an inside out bell . . . Sort of. Frosty Like this? As soon as I read it this idea fell outta my ear so I had to draw it! The left side ring is for balance, the right side ring is for a cord. Willy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuge Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Another way to improve resonance is to work harden your entire rod before torch bending and quenching the angle bends (for the classical triangle dinner bell). The more tension in the material, the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 One way to make a clapper is use a golf ball with a paddle like attachment so the wind can move it easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillyP Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 As for 'tank bells'? What about CO2 Fire Exsinguishers? Are they hollow? If so, I know where there are bins of them for a couple bucks each.... Probably less if a guy was going to buy a few at a time. Willy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 The ones I've cut are aluminium, make good oil baths for vertical quenching, the dry powder ones are thin skinned steel. Divers air tanks are good thick steel (Ideal small gas forge bodies) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Ameling Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) As for 'tank bells'? What about CO2 Fire Exsinguishers? Are they hollow? If so, I know where there are bins of them for a couple bucks each.... Probably less if a guy was going to buy a few at a time. Willy The fire extinguisher tanks that Jay used over at Big River Forge were heavy steel tanks - around 4 to 6 inches in diameter and at least 1/4 inch thick. So they were very much like the large torch gas tanks. He would cut them in about half. The top got used with that threaded valve section for projects. The bottoms he would tack weld on half a chain loop to the bottom to use as a hanger. (Don't forget to leave a few extra links to that chain as the hanger.) The rest was then how much you wanted to finish them. They worked well for patio/garden bells. It was kind of like using a section of large/thick pipe for a bell. A foot or two of 6 inch diameter well casing or drain pipe rings pretty well. The only hard part with that pipe is figuring out a hanging system to allow it to vibrate. Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands p.s. Jay might have a picture on his web site of the three such "gongs" we had hanging in the big doorway at the old limestone-walled shop. Like in the background of the pic of the free-standing patio fireplaces. Big River Companies Edited May 13, 2009 by Mike Ameling bad spellin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillyP Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Mike, I bought a big one like you described. about 8" in diameter, at least 1/4" thick. I cut it off a half inch below the point where the side become straight. And also as you said, I could not get the brass fitting out of the top. My O2 tank is empty and only one of my pipe wrenches was big enough and I didn't have a second pair of hands to help hold it up anyway. So I cut the fitting off flush with the top. Turns out that wasn't such a bad idea because after I take out the tube that goes from the top to bottom of the tank, I'll have a smaller hole for mounting/hanging, and the brass that's still inside the bell isolates it enough so that it still rings VERY LOUD. Willy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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