Although I've posted in the past about making handbell ornaments I thought I'd start a new thread. One reason is someone asked about a detail, and another, 'tis the season!
In case anyone is interested, these are not difficult to make. I turn the bell first, then a handle in two parts, then a little clapper for inside suspended by a piece of brass wire. I've seen a lot of wooden bells and few had clappers. While you don't get a metallic ringing from a wooden bell, when people pick them up they always look inside then swing the bell to make a sound!
A few from various wood species. I've made the bells out of a wide variety of wood species and almost anything will work. However, I prefer fine-grained woods such as ebony, cocobolo, eastern red cedar, holly, dogwoood, etc. I like fine-grained hard woods for the handle such as bloodwood or ebony but I've also used cherry, and other species.
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Some sketches:
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I cut this one in half to show the shape of the bell and the clapper. This one has a piece of brass wire with a loop on both ends connecting the clapper to the attachment piece inside. However, these days I attach the clapper differently in a way that works better and takes less time - a bit more about that later. This picture shows how the wall thickness of the bell is tapered thin at the rim and thicker and stronger at the center.
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As shown in the upper middle sketch I start with a block of wood about 1-3/4 square and maybe up to 3" or so long. Mount the block in a chuck, turn round, then shape the outside of the bell. It's easier to quickly get the outside shape right if I first use a parting tool to cut to the target depth in a couple of places.
The outside of a bell before final shaping then smoothing with shear scraping. I usually sand the outside and apply finish before starting on the inside.
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Drill a depth hole to make hollowing easier. I always hollow with a parting tool as shown in the sketch at the upper right. Starting at the center I simply push the parting tool in at an angle, working towards the outside. Near the outside I make sure the parting tool is aligned with the shape of the flare and the end of the bell by watching from directly overhead. Then use the same parting tool to refine the shape a bit from the middle and towards the deepest part. I judge the thickness and taper by feeling between my thumb and forefinger.
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I use either a spindle gouge in the shear scraping mode or a Hunter carbide tool to smooth the inside, dragging the tool from the deepest part to the rim. I want the rim to be thin and the wall thicker towards the handle. When the shape is right I sand the inside then drill a small hole for attaching the handle.
I make the handle in two parts: the handle itself shaped to fit the top of the bell, and a wooden connector "pin" with a tenon that fits through the hole in the bell and into the same diameter hole in the end of the handle. These are glued together after I attach the clapper.
As mentioned above, I used to attach the clapper with a piece of brass wire with loops on both ends, one end connected to the a short wire loop glued into the wooden connector pin and the other loop fastened to a hole drilled horizontally through a tab on the top of the clapper.
The way I do it now is much simpler - I use a length of wire with a loop on one end and glue the other straight end directly into a small hole drilled into the top of the clapper. The loop on the upper end connects to a short wire with a loop glued into the bottom of the wooden connector as before. This is simpler, quicker, and actually works better!
I used to cut and shape brass wire from a spool, then I found the hobby store sold straight brass wires with a loop already formed on one end. Inexpensive and saved some effort.
The lower right diagram shows parts ready for assembly. I fasten the clapper and wire first to the wooden connector pin, insert the pin through the hole in the bell, and glue the pin, bell, and handle together. The second photo above shows these pieces ready for assembly, although this one uses the old clapper connection method. Some day I'll get a photo of the new method.
Finish off by drilling a hole into the top of the handle and fasten a small brass screw eye for hanging.
I've also made some using cast acrylic for the bell. This one was from an extremely dark green acrylic which showed the color even where the wall was very thin. Using lighter colors didn't look good to me since when thin they are nearly transparent.
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JKJ
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Originally Posted by Tim Elett
