Saturday, January 6, 2018

Ongoing Project: Sleigh Bells

Christmas gift from long ago…probably about 5 years.

  bells

It was a bunch of sleigh bells from Jen, Andy and the boys.   I put the bells in this wooden container and put them up on a shelf in the kitchen…twice a year when I would clean off that shelf I would think…I need to clean up those bells.

bells two

I started this project before Christmas.  I soaked them for a few days and then polished them…and polished…and polished.

bells three

Most of them still need their throats cleaned…but I could not stand the suspense of what one might look like? They were laying out on the counter drying.

IMG_7659

Pretty…this one is a B/C bell ( Must be the place it was on the harness)

Tall bells with base

I am not sure how I will use these four bells…They are attached to the base with a screw.  Historically I can find no reference to bells mounted in this fashion.  So they are mystery bells.   They are all #3  petal bells. The creative part of my brain has a few ideas how to use them as Christmas ornaments….but I am not sure how they will look. 

For now, I will finish the cleaning…attach ribbons and put name tags on them and put them in a Christmas Tin to be opened before Christmas next year.

It was turdy below that old zero mark on the trusty old thermometer yesterday morning. 

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17 comments:

Gemma's person said...

Your middle name must be Patience.
Beautiful bells.

Gemma's person said...

All-metal "Sunday" strap

Advertisement for metal-strap sleigh bells

A variation on the New England style is the all-metal body strap decorated with lightweight machine-stamped bells. Each bell was riveted to a brass base plate, and the plates were connected with metal links. A heavy fabric or thin leather strap was sometimes woven through the links and used to fasten the strap around the horse. The thin brass parts in this type of strap were easily damaged. Today, they have the nickname of "Sunday" straps, because they were supposedly used only on special occasions, such as going to church.

DJan said...

Well, they are pretty, and you did a great job of cleaning them up. Now all you need is a Sunday horse to go along with your Sunday bells. (according to Gemma, above). :-)

Gemma's person said...

Maybe... just something I found , not sure it is necessarily what she has.

Mac n' Janet said...

They're so pretty, looking forward to seeing how you use them. Thirty below is beyond my ken.

L. D. said...

They turned out to look so great. You know you are making me jealous as my box of bells, which were lost for a few years, are sitting next to my desk waiting for cleaning. I worked with brass light fixtures of my grandmothers when I was young and it really is fun to bring back the original surface.

Tired Teacher said...

❤️ these bells! They will make great ornaments. I'd attach the ones with the bases on a leather strap to hang on a door knob. I have bells on both of my doors and love the sound they make when the door is opened and closed.

Linda Reeder said...

Like Teacher above, I have bells on my front door knob during the month of December. I think they came from Tom's Boy Scout days. They are on leather on what appears to be an ankle band, for pow wow dancing.
From this project I can tell that you have far more patience for tedium than I do. Well done.

Terry and Linda said...

Golly that must have been a huge project. But they do look wonderful now.

Leah said...

They are beautiful - can the 4 bells be attached to a piece of leather and then made into individual ornaments? I am curious to see what you come up with! Yes this so very cold weather is getting very old!

Far Side of Fifty said...

I am not sure?? I contacted a bell expert this morning, he says they may have been used on a dinner table, he says they were not used on a horse. He also said perhaps they were used to ring in the New Year :)

Rita said...

Those are awesome!
I was thinking of a strip of leather for those bells to somehow be hung on a door or a boor knob so they jingle when the door opens and closes. That was worth all the work because they are just beautiful! :)

Red said...

That's super cold. Minus 34 C eh!

Paula said...

Those are some really neat bells!

Ron said...

Now I have Edgar Allan Poe's "Bells" running through my head for the rest of my day!!

Granny Marigold said...

You brought out the shine on those bells!! Good to have indoor projects when it's so terribly cold.

Sam I Am...... said...

What beautiful bells! Again, I learn something new from you and your followers. Very interesting and how cool is it to have real sleigh bells!