Omaha daily bee., 1895-10-31
CASTING A MONSTER BELL.
Dimcutt and Bnborious Job Under
MnN In Cincinnati.

A Cincinnati foundry has undertaken to
cast monster bell for local church--a bell
that will exceed in size and weight any one
in the United States, and exceed the Mon
treal cathedral bell which weighs thirteen
and one-half tons This royal vibrator, says
the Cincinnati Enquirer will be cast in a
heroic mold, not as immense as that of the
Moscow bell, signalized in history and song
but in proportions sufficiently grand to make
It a curiosity. Its weight for instance, will
be nearly 10000 pounds-pretty near enough
avoirdupois to make complete church chime
Fifteen tons of molten copper and tin will be
required to ill the mold new almost com
pleted at the Buckeye Bell foundry At least
that amount of metal will be in the furnace
and pretty nearly all of which will be run
out when the proper moment arrives.
But considerable work of careful kind has
yet to be accomplished before that auspiclous
time comes corps of mechanics has beer
busy for weeks on the preliminaries. Sc
much space was required to do the thing
properly that the internal arrangement of the
foundry had to be overthrown to consider
able extent. deep pit had to be dug in
which to place the foundation works, 80 tC
speak, causing the removal of a large derrick
used for the heavy handling customary In
such establishments. Then an overhead lift
ing apparatus had to be specially constructed
to be able to handle the casting after It had
cooled-to lift it out of it's place and carry II
where 1t could be advartageously moved tC
the outside of the building.
At present there is an odd-lookng concern
outside the foundry, partially on the street
aud partially on the sidewalk. Any one see
ing it, who had had experience in log cabin
building here or elsewhere, would be at
tracted by It; so, perhaps, would be the
pioneer farmer who had to make his grain
bins out of logs. The reporter only measured
it with his eye, but it must be twenty-five
feet long. ten feet wide and twenty feet high
1t is constructed of heavy timbers, notched
at the ends so as to fit strongly and snugy
into one another leaving openings of three
or four inches between timbers. 1t is filled
to the top with clay, which will be used ii
making the mold.
There is a bin in the foundry, few step!
in from the front door. which. on first notice
might be thought to contain heap of an
thracite coal. But on closer inspection NOR:
metallic uster is dscernbe Superintendent
| Lotz, the overseer and designer of the BIZ
bsll, will inform you that it is the copper 70
the bell, In which he is taking more interes
because of what he has at stake than thos
who will have to pay for his pains. perhaps. :
On the floor near the bin are piles of bars
| These are the tin pigs. The alloy Of cope
and tin used will be 78 parts Of the forme
! and % of the latter. The bell was made pos
| sible by the gift of Joseph Buddeke, deceased
, whose widow carried out his wishes by pac
| ing the $4,000 allotted by her husband 70
that purpose at the disposal of the pastor o
| the Church of St. Francis de Sales. The bell
| however, will cost larger sum.
! William s. Poppleton speaks at the citi
| zens' mass meeting at the Coliseum Frida
| NnUGmhpr I