UP FROM THE ASHES...THERE ARISES A TREE

Sometimes when it seems that all hope is lost and my dreams have burned to the ground, God can take my hand, raise me up from the ashes and put me back to good use for His glory.  No matter what devastation I bring upon myself, He is always there to forgive me and set me right if I am truly penitent.

So because I am eternally grateful for this undeserved but magnificent grace, I in turn took pity on this poor, destroyed set of bells that I found on eBay.  They didn't appear to have any hope of ever being a beautiful instrument again and were doomed to be disposed in a dumpster.

As soon as I spotted them, I immediately recognized what these ruined pieces were: the 27 bells of an old Latin Percussion Chinese Bell Tree!  Upon reading the item description my educated guess was quickly confirmed.  These burned-up brass bells came from a music store that had caught fire, and the wooden frame for this bell tree had been incinerated.  All that was left were these severely-damaged metal cups and the threaded post.

(***NOTE: Originally Latin Percussion manufactured Chinese Bell Trees that came in a rather bulky wood casing that would stand on a flat surface.  These trees had 27 bells and were not designed to be drum-set adaptable.  Nowadays LP makes a more versatile tree that has a slim but sturdy metal frame and can be mounted on a cymbal stand.  These newer models only have 26 bells.  This was how I determined that these burned-up bells belonged to an older model, besides the fact that if they had been a newer model, the metal frame would still be intact.  But of course you don't have to be a Professional Percussionary Picker to arrive at that conclusion.  Anyone could have deduced that brilliant judgment using common sense.  Could you just get back to the stupid article already?***)

Deciding this was definitely a restoration project worth taking on, I slapped down a $20.00 bid and easily won the bells.  As soon as they arrived, looking very singed and scarred, I took them to be sand-blasted and polished.  While they were away being refurbished, I began construction on a new wooden housing to mount them.

I went with a fairly simple design with some ornate molding to dress it up a little and make it unique.  The frame is a typical "L" shape with a top brace shorter than the base.  To make my creation similar to classic models I remembered from the past, I cut the corners of the upper support in sort of a "V" shape and added diagonal reinforcements to strengthen the connection of the base and the back.  This is very important, as the 27 bells are quite heavy when stacked all together and can cause the frame to warp and pull apart if it is not sturdy enough to hold them up.

After all the cutting, sanding, gluing, nailing, and staining was complete, my frame was finished and I was ready to complete my project.  Time to go pick up the bells.

The bells looked much better now with their surfaces restored, although they did lose a bit of their attractive brassy color.  Their shine was diminished but considering the shape they were in before, I was satisfied with their renewed appearance.  I didn't expect them to look brand new.

I laid them all out in order from 1 to 27 in preparation for sliding them onto the threaded rod which seems like an easy task, but you'd be surprised how close in size some of these bells are.  It could be hard to determine their exact order based solely on observation.

Luckily Latin Percussion conveniently stamps numbers on the inside surface so that confusion is avoided and no bells get stacked out of order.  Of course, a couple of the numbers had worn off with age or from the sand-blasting, but by process of elimination I was able to determine their place.  Now I thought I was ready to assemble.

That's when I remembered I had one more hurdle to get over.  The bells do not simply stack one on another.  There needs to be a rubber washer between each to prevent metal-to-metal contact.  I also needed a plastic sleeve to cover the threaded rod.  These items were no doubt destroyed by the fire.  I decided I better do some research.

Partially disassembling the bell tree I already owned, I examined the washers it utilized and jotted down the dimensions.  Then I went to Lowe's to search for the washers and something I could use as a plastic sleeve.  I know all this detail is completely boring and irrelevant to anyone besides me who might be inadvertently reading this, but I am enjoying reliving my experience and writing about it.  I don't do this blog for YOU, buddy.  I'm entertaining myself.

I knew from previous explorations through the vast amounts of merchandise contained within the monstrosity known as Lowe's that the best place to find a plastic sleeve was in the "Plumbing" section.  There I found plastic tubing that would fit perfectly over my threaded rod.  Plastic sleeve: check.  That was easy.  Now over to "Hardware" to find the rubber washers.  How difficult could that be?

Being rather ignorant of tools, hardware and other aspects of common handymanism, I failed to realize just how many variations of a simple thing like a washer there could actually be.  Even though I managed to find some rubber washers and came equipped with my dimensions written down, I quickly became flustered digging through the multiple selections available.  In addition to my deteriorating eyesight, fractions like 5/8ths, 11/16ths and 15/32nds tend to befuddle my brain and cause confounding consternation.  And when it comes to metric sizes, I'm completely lost.  It seemed inevitable that I would have to admit my shortcomings and enlist the help of an evil employee of the greedy corporation.

As luck would have it, the guy I approached with my unusual problem was not the shoulder-shrugging, "Heck-if-I-know" kind of sales associate that I sometimes encounter.  But when you are searching the numerous aisles of Lowe's for something to serve as the knob on a sustain lock button for a set of Orchestra Chimes, or a rubber separator for the mounting post of a Chinese Bell Tree, that sort of confused response must be expected from time to time.  I'm a percussionist, not a contractor.  They don't speak my language.

Anyway, this particular salesperson seemed to know something about rubber washers.  He leads me back over to the "Plumbing" section to peruse the inventory of black plastic "O"-rings and finds me one that fits over the plastic sleeve.  I have no idea what an "O"-ring is actually used for in the plumbing industry, but: good enough.  These might work.  I buy thirty of them.

Back at the drum workshop, I begin assembling my bell tree using the "O"-rings.  I get to about bell #6 and decide to test my work with a brass-tipped mallet, the proper implement for playing bell trees.  The result is unsatisfactory.  The bells have a dull, abbreviated ring and I am unhappy in general simply because I would really rather have rubber washers that match the originals instead of these mysterious "O"-rings that are supposed to be used in some fashion involving bathroom fixtures of which I am completely unaware.

I decide to try a different angle.  I go to the internet to do further research.  I surf over to the Latin Percussion website where I hope to find available replacement parts.  No such luck.  Nothing in any of the catalogs, even the one called "Parts Catalog."  I call the company and try to explain what I need, and am subsequently transferred from the front desk to Customer Service to the Materials & Parts Department to a guy named "Nick" who unfortunately is away from his desk or in some other manner unavailable at this time if I would like to leave a message...

So then I go yet another route.  I try a search on eBay.  The search "Rubber Washer" gets me a gazillion gaskets, grommets, washers, didacts and narpets displayed in a seemingly never-ending list.  This could take forever.  I continue to narrow my search using the exact dimensions of my sample until I finally find EXACTLY what I need: rubber washers; 13/16" in diameter; 3/8" center hole; 1/8" thick.  Trouble is, they come in a pack of FIFTY.....all the way from friggin' Birmingham, United Kingdom.  I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!  I NEED THIS BELL TREE COMPLETED TODAY!!!

Okay now, if you have half a brain as I apparently do not, you probably have been asking yourself one question all throughout this drawn-out, ridiculously-stupid story: "Why don't you take the rubber washer you have in your hand over to Lowe's and do side-by-side comparisons with all the ones they have available?"

As a wise man once said: "I hadn't thought of that."

Well, I eventually realized my stupidity and went back to Lowe's and purchased the washers I needed to complete the job.

So basically the moral of this story is this: Patient, practical planning pays off.  The answer to your problem might be right at hand if you just calm down and look for it.  Take your time and do the job right.  Don't forget to take your socks off before you get in the bathtub and never jump out of an airplane while eating spaghetti.

And most importantly: Never underestimate the amazing, beautiful things God can do with you, no matter how fouled-up and burned-down you may feel.  He is the God of Restoration, and you could be his next great project.  Accept His grace, and let Him do His mighty work in you.