ISSN (1897-3310) ARCHIVES Volume 10 Issue 3/2010 of 167 – 170 FOUNDRY ENGINEERING

33/3 Published quarterly as the organ of the Foundry Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Bell founding – the past and the present

M. Cebulak, J.St. Kowalski*, W. Wojciechowski Chair of Materials Technology, Institute of Materials Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Kraków, Poland Corresponding author. E-mail address: : [email protected]

Received 30.04.2010; accepted in revised form 01.07.2010

Abstract

This paper outlines the history of bell founding. The exceptional character of bells, which are products of supracultural importance, was stressed. The complexity of the bell manufacturing process and a unique approach to the technology design were highlighted. Basing on the data obtained from foundry shops currently operating in Poland, known as bell-casting foundries, the main guidelines for the bell casting process as used nowadays by the Felczyński Foundry with long-standing traditions and Wojdak’s Foundry, both of which are casting bells according to modern technologies, using modern moulding materials and metal alloys, were described.

Keywords: founding, history of casting technology, moulding materials

raw metals into specific objects, using for this purpose high Introduction temperature and the casting process, one of the oldest metal

forming techniques. Casting had been known to mankind many With the progress of humanity, a new term was created which centuries ago and was used as a method for shaping tools, nowadays accompanies man in nearly all facets of his life. weapons, objects of everyday life, kitchenware, and pieces of art. Technology verbally means ”a method of making” and can serve as a kind of formula which, when applied correctly, allows us to create various goods used by man. The word goes back in its meaning to the times when man had mastered and successfully implemented into his everday activities the first technical inventions, like fire or wheel; it survived until the present day, when the demand for new inventions and new solutions is more urgent than it has ever been.

1. The history of bells and their role in man’s life

Bells were always important in the life of societies, no matter what place they occupied on earth, and what culture and customs they represented. The oldest finding, a small bronze bell, dates back to the 19th century BC. Bells were important as pieces of art, worship and culture. They have unvariably accompanied man since the time when he mastered the skill of changing shapeless Fig. 1. The Russian bell „Kolokol”

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Bells perform several “functions”. First and foremost, they are from Nurnberg and hung in the Wawel Cathedral on 9 July 1521. pieces of art, the sculptures that enjoy our eyes when looked at; Since that time its voice can be heard on the most important they are also musical instruments which belong to the group of occasions. instruments called idiophones, i.e. the instruments producing sound by their own vibrations. They can be used either as single instruments, or can operate in duos or trios, or form carillons composed of many bells, usually hit by hammers moved by hand 2. Polish bell-casting foundries or by a clock-operated mechanism. A loud voice of the bell Bronze founding was the handicraft targeted mainly at hanging in a church tower woke up the citizens in small cities casting of heavy objects like guns, grates, monuments and bells, calling them for morning prayers. Bells took part in various using bronze and gun metal. The guild of bronze founders ceremonies; on ships they warned the crew of an imminent danger derived from the guild of tin founders. Since 1808, the family of

Felczyński have been operating in one of the bronze founding sectors of the industry, called bell founding. Figure 3 shows different bell profiles.

Fig. 2. The schematic description of a bell structure

There are many bells in Poland that deserve our attention as Fig. 3. Types of bell profiles regards the history of their creation and functions they were expected to perform. The history of each of them is well known At the Felczyński Foundry, bells are cast by the traditional to the successive generations, because – contrary to people – bells method passed down as a heritage from generation to generation. live a long life, which enables them to witness numerous events The process starts with the determination of sound profile or tone and see people passing away. the bell should have after casting. Next, the core of the bell is „Tuba Dei”, one of the oldest and largest swung bells in designed to match the predetermined tone, the dimensions are Central Europe, is hanging in the tower of Ss. Johns Cathedral in calculated, and a strickle is made, i.e. the device used for shaping Toruń. Cast by local founder Marcin Szmidt in 1500, it managed the external surfaces of the individual mould components, which to preserve its original wooden yoke. Nowadays it raises vivid include the four main parts: interest as an object quite unique that has managed to survive • core when other innumerable bells in Poland were robbed during wars, • cope (false bell) partitions and other historical events. It weighs nearly 7,5 tons • waist (body, shirt) and is the instrument of a very high precision, emitting sounds of • crown the same timbre for over five hundred years. The successively prepared mould parts are assembled together Larger than „Tuba Dei” and twenty years „younger” is the according to a strictly predetermined procedure, they are clamped „Royal Sigismund Bell”, hanging in the Sigismund Tower of the and placed in a pit made in the earth, which has been rammed Wawel Cathedral. Every day, hundreds of people from different very thoroughly. The moulding material is loam mixed with nations, cultures and religions visit this Bell. Famous all over the water and horse manure. world, the bronze giant weighs over 9 tons (the body alone) and in The chemical composition of an alloy from which the bell is terms of size is the second bell in Poland. Larger is only the bell cast is left to the discretion of worker responsible for melting called „Maria Bogurodzica” (Mary the Mother of God), hanging down of the charge. The worker assigned to do this job is also in the Licheń Basilica. The Cracow bell was cast by Hans Behem responsible for proper furnace operation and for all the successive

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steps of the charge melting process, ensuring the required moulding technologies ending. All these changes and temperature inside the furnace, and tapping molten metal when modifications introduced to a bell founding plant make the the temperature has reached a level optimum for the mould traditional ritual of creating an instrument – sculpture disappear. pouring process. At the Felczyński Foundry, the metal for On the other hand, the manufacturing process becomes more castings is melted in a reverberatory furnace, the operation of efficient, allowing for the time and money savings. It also implies which requires great skill and experience. Warming up of the that older experienced craftsmen are less needed in the eyes of the furnace since the moment of lighting off until the moment of young generation, quickly absorbing all innovations and learning releasing the steel pin can take the time as long as several days, faster how to use them in practice. with process parameters depending on numerous external factors, e.g. on temperature and humidity of the surrounding air. The bell after casting has to be finished, because poured in a References loam mould it has a dull grey colour. There are fragments of mould sticking to its surface, and they have to be removed very thoroughly. The next step is careful examination of the bell [1] Jacek Swadowski, „Niektóre problemy związane z akustyką timbre. It is done with special tuning forks. Adjusting the required dzwonów”, „Rzemiosło artystyczne i wzornictwo w Polsce”, timbre is absolutely necessary and must be followed very „Ludwisarstwo w Polsce”, Proceedings of the 3rd Scientific rigorously as no deviations from the required sound level are Session „Crafts and Design in Poland”, District Museum in permitted. Instruments out of tolerance are remelted and cast Toruń and Toruń Branch of the Association of Art again. The next step is cleaning and grinding. The last step is Historians, 8-9 November 2002, Toruń 2003. mounting of the bell in yoke. After this operation the bell is ready [2] Jerzy Piaskowski, „Dawne stopy metali stosowane w for hanging. odlewnictwie artystycznym” „Rzemiosło artystyczne i The casting techniques available nowadays enable wzornictwo w Polsce”, „Odlewnictwo w Polsce”, modernisation of this process and reduce considerably the time of Proceedings of the 7th Scientific Session „Crafts and Design the bell manufacture. Various metallurgical plants offer the ready- in Poland”, Toruń Branch of the Association of Art for-use, most often standardised, alloys. Historians, Toruń 2007. Modern induction furnaces melt down the metallic charge [3] Adam Tabor, „Techniki wytwarzania. Tom 1 Wybrane within the time of about two hours. The optimum melt zagadnienia z odlewnictwa”, A handbook for students from temperature to start pouring is controlled by thermocouples. high technical schools. Kraków 1998. The use of synthetic moulding sands with natural (and not [4] Leszek A. Dobrzański, „Podstawy nauki o materiałach i only) binders has opened new possibilities for the bell founding metaloznawstwie”, Engineering materials with basics of technology, and therefore nowadays various techniques of bell materials design, Wydawnictwo Naukowo-Techniczne 2004. founding can be successfully applied. For example, at Wojdak’s [5] Jerzy Piaskowski, „Z dziejów polskiego odlewnictwa”, Foundry, several modern techniques are used, to mention only the „Technologia odlewnictwa w X-XII w. w świetle traktatu lost wax process and hand moulding in bentonite sands. In the lost mnicha Teofila „O sztukach rozmaitych ksiąg troje”, 2’78 wax process, cope is the first element to be moulded. A wooden Przegląd Odlewnictwa, A publication of Polish pattern is made and it is coated with silicone. The silicone after Foundrymen’s Technical Association. hardening is coated with wax; onto thus prepared wax pattern a layer of the moulding mixture is applied, and then the casting [6] Adam Tabor, Jan Stanisław Rączka, „Odlewnictwo”, Wyd. operation is carried out in a standard way. PK, Kraków 1996. In the hand moulding technology using bentonite sands, the [7] Krzysztof J. Czyżewski, „Królewska Katedra na Wawelu”, A wooden patterns are made on three-axis CNC machine tools; guide published by Wydawnictwo św. Stanisława BM moulds are prepared in a traditional way. Ornaments on the bell Archidiecezji Krakowskiej 2002. body are made with negative punches used for stamping of [8] Urszula Olbromska, Marta Trojanowska, „Muzyka dzwonów inscriptions or reliefs. Both half moulds are handled to the drying i magia fajek…”, A guide to the museum of bells and pipes. post. Drying is carried out at the temperature of 350oC for 8 A Division of the National Museum of the Przemyśl Region, hours. Przemyśl 2004. [9] Zbigniew Górny, „Odlewnicze stopy metali nieżelaznych”, Wydawnictwo Naukowo-Techniczne – Warszawa 1992. 3. Summary [10] Małgorzata Dubrowska, Andrzej Sołtan, „Brązownictwo warszawskie w XIX i XX wiek. Od Norblina do Summing up it can be concluded that differences in Łopieńskich”, Warszawa 1999. technology are the reason why some crafts undergo [11] Konstanty Górski, „Historya Artyleryi Polskiej”, Warszawa transformation into more modern techniques, other disappear, or 2003. are combined with similar ones to form large plants [12] W. Florow, „Artystyczna obróbka metali”, Państwowe manufacturing related product assortments. The process of bell Wydanie Naukowe 1939. founding has changed in practically every aspect, starting with the [13] Feliks Kiryk, „Cechowe rzemiosło metalowe, zarys dziejów choice of cast material, the chemical composition of which is no do 1939r.” Biuro Wydawnictw K.D.W. 1972. longer adjusted by the craftsman, through modern measuring instruments and furnaces of advanced design, and in various new [14] Sergiej J. Wieniecki, „Opowiadania o metalach”, Śląsk 1982.

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[15] Collective work edited by Tomasz Jaworski, Marek [17] Multimedialna Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN, W-wa Nasieniewski, Krzysztof Przegiętka, „Tajemnice starych 2008. dzwonów Torunia i Chełmna w 500-tną rocznicę ulania [18] www.katedra-wawelska.pl. wielkiego Tuba Dei”, TNOiK Toruń 2001. [19] www.torun.pl. [16] Jerzy Sobczak, oprac. graf. Paweł Darłak, „Odlewnictwo w [20] www.felczynski.pl. rozwoju cywilizacji od zarania ludzkości po dzień

dzisiejszy”, Kraków- Instytut Odlewnictwa, 2003.

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