The incredible story behind the Honor Bell

You can feel the emotions tied to that bell when they ring it Beautiful story and a great way too Honor are fallen Service members

Thanks for the app and 3D. And thanks for this video. Would never known about this with out your channel. Thanks.

Maybe those holes are because there was slag that wasn't scooped off that got mixed in?

Shut up and get to the pour. Lol how you going mate I’ve seen all ur vids. We neeeeed more. Plz hope you and the family are well

I've learned so much from watching your videos Perry. Thank you so much for creating material that are very entertaining + interesting + real to watch♥️from South Africa

I fucking love your channel sir. Phenomenal content, keep up the great work.

Found this channel a fews days ago been watching your casting videos found them quite interesting and fun question how do you cast curved plate for like say a wrestling or boxing title belt

Nice Video, Thank you. As a Vet i appreciate this. BigstackD sent me over :)

Hi there Perry
I've moulded and poured loads of bronze bells in my career and I have always "Bottom gated" my bells. The largest bell was a 1.5 Ton bell and the smallest was a hand bell.
I know the old boys from England poured it from the top and I have personally broke and remoulded very old bells and the were all full of holes, some with clear inclusion defects but loads with "oxide" inclusion defects from the waterfall effect of the metal cascading down from the top. Bottom gating is definitely the way to go and a nice stepped runner bar with thin and wide ingates (multiple gates) is the best way to go. I also included ceramic foam filters in the method, but you have to be careful because proper Bell metal 80% Copper and 20% tin can easily block smaller filters. Hope this helps, ps I have been in the industry for 30 years. Good video and I always enjoy it, keep em coming. Greetings from New Zealand.

I love that you did this. I got to experience the Honor Bell in person and it rang right through me. Fascinating to get your analysis of its construction.

I agree 100% with your analysis of how turbulent the pour is using those two sprues so high in the mold. It’s not a good idea and it most definitely will cause surface defects (typically in the cope surface) and some of the defects you noticed on the Honor Bell are signs of that happening.
I know they could pour them in a better fashion but I can also see they already have steel tight flasks and the process has been used for decades and the customers are happy with the end product.
Can the process be improved? Absolutely!
Unfortunately while they are in the trenches making castings sometimes there isn’t anyone that has the time to solve those issues and when they aren’t a problem for their end user the old saying, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it applies.
I know there is room for improvement at every foundry.
Your analysis is good constructive criticism that should be welcome to anyone (foundrymen included) that want to continuously improve.
Does it hurt our “ego” to hear it? It sure can if you take it personal. So we should all strive to accept good conversation about things others see. Sometimes we are too close to the forest to see the trees.
Can’t wait to see your version of how to pour the bell. Who knows you might get a job offer… 😂
You are a blessing to the interweb! 🤙🏼👊🏼

I'm wondering if that riser/feeder is hollow inside? It'd be interesting to see a cross section. It also looks a bit wrinkly where it meets the surface of the bell, as if it's shrunk locally. Still, hard to tell without being there. Cheers Perry.

There seem to be at least two groups of people in the world, those that just Get The Job Done and those that want to know how things work. Poles and zeros of resonent devices esp. in 3 dimensions are fascinating. But in the course of every project, there comes a time to shoot the Engineers and build the device. Looking forward to your continued casting projects.


Raised stars must raise havoc with the ringing bell.

Nice analysis of the casting process. I agree with the hypothesis that turbulence occurs due to the height, based on your sketch.

This is another fantastic video! The honor bell might have some extremely minor character mark's but it is a beautiful bell with a heartfelt history. I think all of our vets who served honorably deserve this recognition.
My guess as to why their casting technique works is that they are working with bronze. High quality bronze is pretty forgiving. And I wouldn't be surprised if that much head pressure drives entrapped air toward the upper edge of the casting. I wonder if the "feeder" is more of a sight gauge to monitor the metal level during the pour.
OK the challenge is made, when are you going to make a 1,000 lb casting? I would travel to your place and hold the video camera for that!
Happy New Year from Alaska

Great story, glad to see you back and healthy.

Very interesting video! I learned something i wouldn't have otherwise :)

Thanks Perry,
As the son of a now diseased veteran and someone who has several family members who are veterans I can only applaud the " Honor" guard teams and what they do. I have attended several ceremonies at Ft. Logan and can attest they are moving. The idea of incorporating the medals of veterans into the cast of this bell is brilliant and ought to be shared.
As for the casting ;
Could it be that the "riser" is in actuality another vent ? Larger so as to take the volume that he two on the other side handle ?
Wouldn't the raised star would be horribly difficult to polish around and achieve any uniformity with the body of the bell ?

Just some thoughts from a complete laymen ( not even a garage dork ), great food for thought though.

Did you ever get a chance to cast anything out of that melted blob of beryllium copper I sent you?

Just because they have been doing things that way for 100 years doesn't mean it is the best way. Sometime we don't need perfection to produce something that seems good enough.

A real learning opportunity to see how the professionals do it.

Very interesting, I'm sure you're getting some good ideas for upcoming projects... Also, happy new year!

The bell is very beautyful, i cannot contraddict that. there are though a few things that i can disagree with: first thing is the brased-on star, personally, i whould NEVER add anyting on a bell, not even the black paint inside.
second thing is the way the bell was cast, a bell cast up side down does not comply with the traditional methods, at least for big bells like these.
third, and i am sorry to say so, but the bell's sound is not that good, it sounds a bit "irony" as if the bell was made of thin sheets of metal welded together. I personally whould expect a better sound from a memorial bell like this, maybe a long lasting tone with many partial notes that can be heard, like in the Grassmayr, Allanconi, Capanni, Marinelli and other's bells.
fourth, the way the clapper is hung in the bell, it whould have been easyer to hang the bell from the handles and fixate the clapper to a ring inside of the bell (like it's usually done for swinging bronzes), for transport the clapper could just have been tied or covered in some soft material to prevent unwanted ringing.
now don't get me wrong here, but i liked this bell a lot, it has a very important role to. but at least for me this is no more that just a memeorial bell.

Overall the video is very well done, i liked the part were you showed the 3D model of a bell.

p.s. i don't know if this is going to be helpful but the little voids inside of the bell's metal are in most cases harmless and cause no disruption to the bell's sounds. many bells i own have these imperfections and yet the sound is clear and long lasting, plus they add some character to the bell and they are a sign of a hand-made product.

i can't wait to see what your next video is going to be avbout! i wish you a happy new year!

Perry, you are a thoughtful and experienced dork in his garage and us fellow dorks appreciate your efforts. Thanks for a cool video. Do you have any near term bell casting plans?

This must of been a great experience for you sir. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and visit to the Honor Bell. I can hear the wheels turning in your head! 😂. Happy New Year sir I hope to see more of your projects in the months to come.

Thanks for sharing 👍

good 👍😊