Any musical triangle experts in here? Last night at my blacksmithing class I made one largely based on the design in Lorelei Sims book. It looks nice but the way she shows it hanging it doesn't ring at all and with it hung properly it rings but not beautifully. I did not have 1/2" round so I used 3/8" round instead which looks fine but may have been part of the problem. The class instructors had different ideas about the exact proportions that each side needed to be and there was even talk of "super quenching" to try and improve the sound but they didn't have a lot of specifics other than "we know there is a correct way to do this, we're just not sure what it is".

I'm reasonably happy with what I made for a first attempt but if I make another I'd like to improve so does anyone have any words of wisdom or links to helpful advice on triangle making? I tried a search but shockingly "triangle" is far too broad a search term to bring up many results about what I am looking to make. Any help is appreciated.

Best,
-Ryan

3/8" round rod seems a bit on the light side to me and hardening does tend to make the tones louder and more sonorous. Just as only hard anvils will ring well.

I used to make a ton of them for the craft trade. Larger material and longer legs makes for more noise but you can certainly make a good one out of 3/8". My biggest standard model was 24" on each leg and 1/2" stock. I would bend each angle using a torch then simply quench it in water - not sure if quenching really helped but made it easier to handle. In addition (and this a "must") - you need to use a very light line to hang it - I always used monofilament fishing line. If it needs to be traditional, use light hemp twine or something similar. Anything larger will dampen the sound.

usually when i find a triangle that dosnt ring its because its not hanging from something that lets it ring... i use leather lace (like shoestrings) keep in mind it must vibrate so if the ends are too close together (touching) it will kill the ring... as far as hardening i dont think you want to .. if it cracks it will also kill the ring(it affects the vibrations).

Making the legs different lengths will produce more tones

I have found that higher carbon steel such as a straightened coil spring gives a more musical/richer tone than one of the same size made from mild steel. Also, never hang a triangle from the end. No ring at all. Always hang it by one of the interior angles. To actually tune a triangle to a particular note probably would take some serious experimentation with any particular type and diameter of steel. It would probably come out something like for an A flat of X size and type of steel you need 13.23 inches while for an A sharp you need 12.78 inches. I'm sure that musical instrument manufacturers worked this out long ago.

Triangularly,
George M.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice and insight.

It is amazing to me how much deeper into all things I have to look and learn as I have become interested in smithing. A triangle seems like it would be the simplest thing in the world to make but there are so many little details that affect the quality of the finished product. Abraham Lincoln once said, "I don't think much of a man who is no wiser today than he was yesterday" and I feel like blacksmithing has enough to teach me that I'll not soon run out of ways to become wiser each day,

Do not power coat the triangle, use a renewable finish as the clapper will beat any finish you use to death.

I'm certainly no musical expert but I found that Lorelei's design worked better with a longer striker than the instructions suggest.

Triangles can be made of any size material. the thickness of the material will vary the tone and the weight of the hanging cord. I have made them out of 3/8 round and square but not usually. I hang them from one end that I have drawn down and made a scroll loop on with a back scroll on the very tip. I then draw a longer taper on the other end and divide it in 3 portions one longer to give the hanging loop. I back bend the other loop so that it will end up near the top inside the triangle so you will be able to hang the clapper on it. The clapper needs to be heavy enough to give it a good rap so it will have good sound. I will make them out of stock as big as 3/4 and those have a real nice tone. I can also use thicker leather on the big ones and it doesn't kill the sound.
I have had some success making them out of rebar and they have a nice tone but don't quench them they will break. Mild steel ones I have had success in quenching.

This is the first triangle that I made during the class.

And here is a second that I made at home with my little home made propane forge, a set of channel lock pliers for tongs, and a piece of railroad track as an anvil...

Might be my imagination but the radius bends look tighter on your first one. Would be an interesting experiment to try different bends and see if that makes any difference.

You can also add some embellishments like a leaf to a simple triangle to make them a little more unique - I use mild steel and heat the corners and quench in water for better sound, also the lengths of the sides are a little different so you get 3 tones during use. A leather shoe lace works for me for hanging. :)

I was taught not to quench the corners after heating them, just heat bend and let cool. I was told that the quenching destroys the sound, because it makes the corners different than the rest of the triangle. you can tune after it is made to, to tune ajust the size of the opening between the legs, smaller or larger th change the pitch, i don't remember what way you go to make a higher or lower pitch.

Might be my imagination but the radius bends look tighter on your first one.

Good eye. The first one was bent around what I believe was a 3/4" jig by heating only that section with an oxy torch. The second was cold bent around a 1" die on my compact bender in my home workshop.

Jeremy- That is beautiful!

Another thing you can do is at the corner you want to hang it from flatten the outside 1/3 or so and punch a hole and then hang it from the hole. Less contact with the metal means better ring.

Stainless Piano Wire is a good, durable way to hang any sort of bell.

I use old Guitar Strings. :)


.