Sleigh bells

[Glenn]

What is the difference between the sleigh bells, saddle bells, and Russian bells on a horse harness?  What was the original purpose of adding the bells to the harness of horses used to pull a sleigh in the snow?

Do the bells have or try to achieve a specific musical tone? 

 

[dimag]

Saddle bells and Russian bells are essentially the same thing, usually a bracket with three brass bells that is attached to the back pad of the harness. Sleigh bells or jingle bells are technically not bells, they are rattles. They are used in many different ways, some are mounted on the shafts or pole, some on belts around the horses neck or around the middle of the horse attached to the back pad and draped over the shafts. Some are hip drops that buckle to the breaching and hang on the horses butt. Some are attached to the sleigh. The brass bells of both jingle and saddle bells are often tuned, the sheet metal jingle bells are usually not tuned.

The bells were used as horns basically, warning pedestrians and other drivers that there was a sleigh coming. A horse drawn sleigh , especially after a snowfall , runs very quietly. There was/is a belief that the bells would ward off evil spirits and protect you on your travels.

The earliest known usage of bells on horses ( both saddle and harness horses) was around 800 BC. The bells were often an expression of wealth or status .

[the iron dwarf]

thank you

here is my first bell, its about 1.5" diameter 38mm

[Daswulf]

Thanks for the info dimag. 

That's a nice first bell ID. I keep thinking of making some. 

[Frank Turley]

This photo shows two of many styles of bells. These particular ones are mounted for use by Native American dancers. The nickel plated brass bells on the left are 1 1/2" in  diameter. I don't know if they are still made. I got mine from Crazy Crow Trading Post a few years ago. We called them "beehive" because of their shape. The brass ones on the right are old, purchased at an antique store in Pennsylvania, 1 1/8" in diameter. There were many other styles. I formerly had some "Swedish sleigh bells" which were all cast brass and came in different sizes; they had incised lines on the casting and were fairly heavy compared to other brass bells I've owned. There are also square, open ended bells with clappers which the catalogs call "sheep bells."

The nickel plated bells were mounted with copper rivets using a home made upsetting-punch for reaching inside the slots. The brass bells I drilled to size and mounted them with self tapping screws.

[Kozzy]

The nickel plated bells show an important production feature which has come up in forum questions a couple of times--clearly showing multiple draws from progressive dies.  You can see at least 3 different forming die hits and there were probably 6 total--the extra hits being to punch the openings, punch the blank from the sheet, and to form the lip that overlaps the base.  So basically, those extra beveled sections are not strictly for cosmetics but a result of the standard forming requirements to draw the metal in stages.  Most of the time such draws are hidden by the further die progressions but in this case, they make a nice cosmetic feature so were maintained.

Even simple draws like this are almost always done in stages to maintain forming control in the press dies.

[dimag]

My body bells (medium draft) and a hip drop. A screen shot of saddle/ Russian bells sometimes called chimes.

[Frank Turley]

This photo shows the style I was trying to describe in my earlier post as brass "Swedish" sleigh bells. Not sure if they are Swedish. Anyway, these particular ones are 1 5/8" in diameter. Besides the slot, they have four holes above the midline. Each has a single tenon with its single hole for a strap attachment, and each is centrally marked on either side of the slot, "NO 6."

[JHCC]

It's also worth noting that sleigh bells jingle and ring-ting-tingle too. No data on what noise saddle and Russian bells make.

[dimag]

A friend of mine had a set of saddle bells, he never used them , they sat in his living room. His had a single clapper mounted inside the bell. They rang clear in comparison to jingle bells (crotal bells) and were a little louder. Having said that, he also had a set of rump bells made of brass but of the crotal type and they also rang clear. He used those ones and even when he got out of the business he sold most everything but he wouldn't part with those bells. 

[King Jenks]

Where can I purchase cast brass bells. Looking for different toned bells.  I do not think stamped would work as they dont have the tone, but not sure. 

[arkie]

Have you tried Google search???  Looks like pages of brass bells.....................

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard for 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

What kind of bells are you looking for, sleigh/rumbler/jingle bells, hand bells, swinging bells, cow bells, or what?  Some are pretty easily available and some are more difficult to source.

BTW, where are you located.  this is a world wide forum and we don't know if you are in Lapland, Tasmania, or Kansas.  Please put you general location in you profile.  Read the "Read This First" tab.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[King Jenks]

I live in Texas.  From my research, I think I am after Solid Brass Cast bells. Rumbler (Crotal) Bells.  I have seen them described as Antique brass bells. I do not care about "antique". I am after bells with great tone. Different sizes for different tones.  I have seen some on Bell Bazaar but their selection is limited. I am looking for sources of the better bells.  

[George N. M.]

I messed about on the internet and found a couple of places that have brass rumbler bells.  Most of the hits of ebay for "brass bells" are for open mouth bells but about 10% of hundreds of hits are closed rumbler bells.  There was one for a strap of a couple dozen graduated sleigh bells that looked interesting.  Amazon didn't have much but there were a few brass rumbler bells of various sizes.  The best result I got was on Google where I searched for "brass sleigh bells."  Quite a few possibilities.  A search for "crotal bells" gave a fair number of hits on Amazon with some overlap with the "sleigh bells" search.

None of the bells I saw described were tuned to a particular note.

There are some blacksmith supply places that steel blanks for sleigh bells.  The pattern is + shaped with the 4 individual arms sort of leaf shaped with the point out.  These could be outlined on brass sheet of varying guages and sizes and raised hot or cold.  A ball bearing could be used for the rumbler.

BTW, I know what "crotal bells" are but IMO it  is a fairly obscure terminology.

If you tell us how you intend to use them and any other criteria, e.g. size, we might be able to help more.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard King, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a much better chance of meeting up with forum members living within visiting distance. Telling us one time in one post won't stick in anybody's memory once we open another post. Heck I'd have to look now and I read it a minute ago, just before looking up "crotal bells."

I did a quick "Duck Duck Go" search and saw lots of hits but browsing a couple I didn't see what I'd think of useful specs. No sizes, note, etc. etc.

If I needed something like this enough I'd talk to my bronze caster buddy and take a class so I could do lost wax castings. I figure class one and I could gang mold a selection of sizes, weights, etc. Spend a week maybe finishing and tuning them with a file. Them when I had an idea what worked I'd take a second class and gang mold the sizes I wanted x 3. 

Have you contacted one of the casting fora? This is a blacksmith forum though I'd be very surprised there aren't plenty of casters aboard. And HECK, Twistedwillow (Billy) makes forged sleigh bells, sometimes from purchased blanks sometimes he cuts them out. Hey BILLY! You reading?

Wish I could help with a source but I'm just a guy on the internet who likes playing with fire and hitting things with hammers. Maybe you should give it a try.

Frosty The Lucky.