Need some help - farm bell

[deere2210]

I recently inherited our family farm bell.. Been handed down through my great grandfather through every generation.. I sandblasted it, and put a coat of rust-oleum primer and two coats of black on it, sunk a 6x6 pressure treated post and re-mounted. The problem is the bell clapper (the thing that hangs down and hits the sides of the bell)... It looks like part of the hook to hang it in the bell has broken off (first picture below, on the left side is where it broke off).. I think the bell is cast iron, but not sure.. I am a hobbyist mig and tig'er, but not sure the best way to attack this one.. Can I tig cast iron? The bell has a date stamped on it of 1886.. Wife wants to be able to ring it to bring the kids to dinner, but been struggling how to fix.. Any ideas are appreciated...

[sn0border88]

Rather than trying to weld it I would try and cut it off at the straight part and find a way to clamp a new piece of steel to it to make the hook.

[ed mac]

i use ni 44 filler rod when tig weldind cast iron

[Tractapac]

I'm pretty sure it's the shaft on the "clapper" that you need to repair. Are you sure it is cast iron? I'd have expected something like that not to be made of cast iron and more likely to be steel, or worked iron from a blacksmith and more likely more easily welded. It's really only been a hook to hang on the ring in the top of the bell. Does the bell come apart at all, in order to get the hook on the ring. i.e. is there a through bolt that holds the bell onto the piece that it hangs and swings form, that in turn goes through to the inside of the bell and incorporates the ring for the clapper to hang on?

[David R]

Give it a spark test. Short red sparks that don't travel more than a foot or two away from the part? Then its cast iron. Long yellow sparks that go 5 feet or have a tail are steel.

Let us know what you get.

David

[zapster]

How big is the diameter of the broken shaft?
There just may be a way to fix this without welding anything..

...zap!

[Ender]

I'd vote for cut it off flush at the "ball", drill and tap to size. Thread some straight rod and bend it however you'd like. No welding, done without a fuss.

[DSW]

Looks like an old bell from a locomotive. I agree that I think its the clapper that needs to be repaired. If so it's no big deal. You could just fasion a new clapper from a chunk of steel and plain rod ignoring the old clapper altogether. Some carful heat and you may beable to bend the old rod to a new hook. I'd heat as much of the rod as posible and then slowly try and pend the end. let it cool slowly afterwards. As also suggested you could cut off the old rod, drill and tap and add a new rod and hook to the old clapper.

[Ender]

Originally Posted by DSW

Looks like an old bell from a locomotive. I agree that I think its the clapper that needs to be repaired. If so it's no big deal. You could just fasion a new clapper from a chunk of steel and plain rod ignoring the old clapper altogether. Some carful heat and you may beable to bend the old rod to a new hook. I'd heat as much of the rod as posible and then slowly try and pend the end. let it cool slowly afterwards. As also suggested you could cut off the old rod, drill and tap and add a new rod and hook to the old clapper.

The only reason I suggested that as opposed to the method of bending the current rod is that it would make it measurably shorter, thus striking the bell in a different spot and creating what one would assume would be a softer tone.

[Oldiron2]

I can not tell if the underside of the bell has a loop to attach the clapper shank; if it does, that's good. If not, I would attach a small piece with an appropriate hole and a large base (Maybe "T" cross section) using Epoxy.
If only the clapper shank is 'broken', I would test it by bending the tip or doing the spark test to be sure it was steel. If it is, a new piece of rod is easily added to get the right length and to bend a hook in.
If it also seems to be cast iron, just report back for more ideas. Usually, the clapper was cast in a mold holding the steel rod to make it all one piece when done.

[Hammack_Welding]

I've repaired several. Cut the rod off at the ball, and braze a piece of 3/8" cold roll on to it. then you can heat the cold roll, and bend a hook on the end.

[WillieB]

I'd be tempted to put the old clapper away and manufacture another. that way you won't care too much if you screw up. Frame the old clapper and hang it over the mantel.

[captdave2612]

It looks like you can maybe bend it to make a hook from that one just to keep it original. If not, I agree bye another one and hang on to that one.

[deere2210]

Thanks for the all the feedback and ideas.. I tried tig'ing a hook on the end and it glowed red (not much spark) and seemed really brittle... So, I cut the rod off flush with the ball on the end, drilled and tapped it and put in a piece of all-thread the same length as the old hanger. At the top I cut off a hook bolt and tig'd it to the all-thread.. Shot on some black rust-oleum and I think it is back in biz. Hung it in the bell and both kids rang the daylights out of it, so I think it passed the initial stress test..

[Stampeder]

Nice work. A family heirloom to be treasured for sure and also to be handed down to future generations. Enjoy it with your family. Happy fourth of July.

[Ender]

Looks great