PERCUSSION RESTORATION: DOOR BELLS (a.k.a ICE CREAM BELLS)

Have you ever pushed through the door of an old-timey General Store and heard the melodious and welcoming tintinnabulation of tiny bells announcing your arrival?  That is the heartwarming, nostalgic sound that I rediscovered when I purchased this rack of five brass door bells and set out to add them to the Percussion Fortress.

Door bells like these can regularly be found on eBay at varying prices depending on their condition and value to the seller, so although they are antiques they are not all that rare.  Most sets consist of three or four bells, but this particular model is the only five-bell grouping that I have come across so far.  Because it was in pretty-good condition, I didn't bother with much restoration other than dusting them off and designing a suitable mounting arrangement on my kit.

Here's how they sound:

As demonstrated above, I mounted these bells rigidly so that they do not swing and can be played individually with a striker.  Since traditionally door bells were mounted on an actual door and made to ring all at once when said door was opened or shut, I purchased a second set to recreate this sound.

This is a set of three bells, two of which are of the same size and pitch.  In order to facilitate the swinging of the entire set simultaneously, these I suspended on springs from a wooden bar.  Now when I push on the mounting bracket, the bells, which each have a cluster of three clappers inside, jerk back and forth and produce the lovely sound of an old-timey General Store door being opened.

Here is the set in action:

Now that I had successfully added two sets of door bells to the Percussion Fortress, there was, of course, no need to purchase any more.  That is what I had decided until I came across a third set of bells that were in rather sad condition and desperately needed some love and attention.  I just couldn't let them go, especially at the reasonable price being offered by the seller.  They were just too cute to pass up, and I speculated that they might be of sizes and pitches that were different from the ones I already had.  In this way I could add three more bells to my five-bell set.

Indeed these bells were slightly different than the others and offered three new notes, but they were in much worse condition.  The mounting bar was completely rusted and unsalvageable, and the bells themselves were heavily coated with patina and wear.  Also they were out of order, which was totally unacceptable by my standards.

Therefore I decided to go in an entirely different direction with these bells, and instead of mounting them in a horizontal fashion similar to the five-bell set, I set about to custom design and build a small bell tree out of them.

Here is the finished result.  The bells have been restored to their original shine and splendor, and have been stacked vertically in "bell tree" formation.  The wood frame I designed and built myself, even adding rubber feet and a mounting bracket on the back so that it may be displayed on a table or added to the drum kit.

Because the clappers were in such disrepair they have all been removed and discarded.  The bells will now be played individually with a striker so that they produce a nice, solid ring.

Here is a video clip demonstrating the sound of these beautifully restored bells:

This concludes this episode of Percussion Restoration in which I have proven that old bells never lose their ring and with a little time and effort, can be made to sing!  Before you toss those antique door bells onto the scrap heap, give me a call and I will take care of them for you!
________________________________________________
****POST UPDATE****
After further research I have discovered that some sellers call these "Ice Cream Bells" because they are (or have been) mounted on the sides of ice cream carts pushed around by street vendors.  I don't live in a big city where street vendors are prevalent so I had no idea.
________________________________________________
****POST UPDATE****
After even further research, I have discovered the actual application for some these bell sets.  Indeed, they are "Ice Cream Bells" and were attached to the handlebar of a Good Humor Ice Cream Trike.  Here I have located a photo of a fully-restored Trike complete with the brass bells intact.  I also located at website called Works Man Cycles that has the tricycles, pushcarts, and new bell sets for sale.