Posted by John Swensen on March 02, 2000 at 14:59:54:
In Reply to: Re: Bell repair & "spinning" posted by AL.H on March 01, 2000 at 23:41:16:
You could get pretty close to the shape with a hardwood mandrel (maple, for example) on a large spinning lathe, but you couldn't planish the bell (harden the metal by squeezing it against a hardened, polished, mandrel with a polished, hardened spinning tool).
With traditional construction techniques, most of the shaping is done with a hammer and anvil, and the mandrel is only used to smooth the close-to-final shape. A master metalsmith could make a bell, complete with bead, using only hammers, dollies, stumps, and stakes, and it could be every bit as accurate as a spun bell, but the time required would be prohibitive.