Bell for the Church of Saint Liberato of Narni fabricated by TiFast S .r .L ., Narni, ITALY

By M. Madaro, M. Costanzi

TiFast S.r.L., like all companies, lives and operates in the framework of a human society; hence the activities dedicated to relationship with stakeholders, the agents having a direct or indirect interest in TiFast life, are of paramount importance. First and foremost, the local community is one of the stakeholders. The development of a good relationship with such stakeholder can be an important added value for both the company and the surrounding area.

Among the projects already completed, one can recount the collaboration with the local Church

Authorities, for the Parrish Church of San Liberato in Terni – Narni – Amelia Arch - dioceses, for the donation of a Titanium cross for the façade of the above – mentione d church. TiFast came to know that both the two bells of the same church are in grave disrepair, hence it proposed to have one of them substituted with a Titanium one.

The fabrication of said Titanium bell has been carried out by TiFast as a whole, no TiFast Dept excluded. It included the finding of the raw material, preparation of the constructive drawings, mechanical works and assembling.

The Bell

The bell was fabricated from Ti-6Al-4V Titanium alloy, also known as Grade 5, one of the Titanium

Fig. 1: Drawing of a 18th cen. French bell used as an inspiration for the project alloys more common in aerospace. The present bell is probably the first one in the world to be made from Titanium, instead of the traditional bronze. The clapper was fabricated from Commercially Pure Titanium alloy, or Grade 2, that is softer than the rest of the bell, in order to avoid denting the inner surface of Fig. 2: The bell in its finished form the bell while ringing. The profile of the bell was inspired by the drawing of a 18th cen. French bell (Fig. 1). The main body of the bell was fabricated from a single piece of Titanium alloy by machining. Then the surface was sandblasted. The clapper and its attachment point were machined and connected to the bell main body by

threaded connections and welds. On the brim of the bell a laser – engraved inscription quotes:

“Non nobis, sed ad maiorem Dei gloriam - A.D. MMXXI” (= Not for us, but for the highest Glory of God. In the Year of the Lord 2021) [Fig. 2]

Blueprints of the bell are given in the drawings from Fig. 3 to Fig. 5.

The bell is completed made from Titanium, therefore it is insensible to weathering. The same holds for the caption.

The specific weight of Titanium is much lower than bronze, therefore the Titanium bell is much lighter than the old bronze one, hence a reduction of the weight impinging on the ancient bell gable of the church (Tab. 1).

Weight

Maximum diameter

Height (without the top eyebolt) Tab. 1: Weight and size of the bell 15 Kg

320 mm

312 mm

Installation

Placing the bell on its natural location involved also the removal of the ancient bronze bell, discovered with surprise as bringing the datum of year 1427, and the total restoring of the sail bell - tower of the San Liberato church (probably dating back to the 17th century), and the fixing of the supports of the new bell, also in Ti-6Al-4V, embedded in the masonry of the bell – tower.

The cross beam of the bell was made in part from oakwood, purely for the aesthetics, and in part from Ti6Al4V (see Fig. 6).

Finally in September 2022 the bell got its new home on the top of the San Liberato church bell – tower, and everybody could appreciate its tolling in B flat 5 (Fig. 7). n

Fig. 6: The bell ready to be installed. The rod protruding on the right is the lever to which the bell chain is attached. All metallic elements from Titanium.