Winter Harbor - A Visit to U.S. Bells

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Hi Blog!

After leaving Canada, our first stop in the U.S.A. was MainStay Cottages & RV Park in Winter Harbor, Maine. We had stayed in this park back in 2021 and just fell in love with the location. The owners Roger and Pearl are the salt of the earth. In 2021, we also got to be good friends with our neighbors, Ron and Brian. This last winter, we had a chance to visit Ron and Brian in Florida. They told us they were going to spend this whole summer at MainStay. We also wanted to get back there, so we told them we would see them this September.

In addition to several Happy Hours, home cooked meals and board games, Ron and Brian took us to see the folks at U.S. Bells. The bell foundry was established in 1970 by Richard and Cindy Fisher. Richard crafts the bells and Cindy runs the store and tours. Crafting runs in the family. Their son is a woodworker and their daughter-in-law is a potter.

As Cindy explained, first a pattern is made from wood or plaster that resembles the finished piece. Sand is packed around the pattern to form a mold impression. 

The molding sand is a mixture of fine sand, clay and a small amount of water. The sand is packed around a pattern and will retain an impression from that pattern much the same as leaving footprints in damp beach sand. The pattern board is removed leaving a sand mold into which they pour molten bronze. When the bronze cools, it becomes a solid casting. But first, you have to get the bronze really, really hot.

Bronze melts at about 1800°F, but it has to heat all the way to 2150°F to be sure it stays molten long enough to completely fill the mold.

The crucible containing 90 pounds of molten bronze is removed from the furnace and the floating slag skimmed from the surface. The metal must be poured smoothly but quickly into each mold to assure the castings do not ‘freeze’ before they are full.

The round "spru hole" on top of each jacket is like a funnel to direct the molten bronze into the mold cavity. The bronze is poured down the spru hole until the mold fills to the top.  Sometimes a little bronze leaks out onto the floor. The floor is covered with sand to catch any drips for easy clean up.

It doesn't take long for the bronze to cool. After the weights and jackets have been removed, the molds are broken open to reveal the new castings. These will be door bells or ship bells with traditional clappers inside.

These small round bells will be made into wind chime bells. These small bells have a clapper on the outside that swings in the wind, striking the bell much like a wind chime.

Sometimes, things don't go as planned. Several things can interrupt the casting process. If the sand is too wet or the bronze cools too quickly and freezes, the result is unuseable. Mistakes can be melted down again.

However, any little drips that hit the floor can't be re-used. They pick up too many impurities. They are gathered and sold to a scrap metal dealer. While Dave picked out our bell, Kathy asked if she could buy some scrap for an art project. Cindy picked up some of the spilled bronzed and gifted it to us.

Pictured below is our bell. We are not sure where in the new house it will hang, but that's part of the fun. If you are curious about how it sounds, here is a link to the U.S. Bell website for the Triple Wind Bell so you can listen for yourself.

We finished our adventure with some amazing lobster rolls. Our visit was all too short. We look forward to seeing Ron and Brian again in Florida. Until then, stay thirsty friends.