Handbell Factory Trip - Emmanuel United Church

A Trip To The Handbell Factory
A few years ago, Mary Jean Beddall and Ann Frederking took the original three octaves of
Emmanuel’s handbells back to the Malmark factory in Plumsteadville, PA for a complete factory
refurbishment. This is a process which should be done every decade or so.
Mary Jean and Ann under the sign in front of the Malmark Company
The Malmark building. This building is where the handbells are tuned and polished and sorted into
sets as well as where refurbishing takes place. It also contains the companies offices. The actual
handbell castings are made at a foundry elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Stacks of raw castings awaiting a process that will pass them through a lathe about 4 times.
Removing bronze from inside of a bell to do the first tuning.
Stacks of machined castings awaiting their final polishing.
Handbell castings are hand polished inside and out.
Willard Markey (now deceased) is one of the two founders of the Malmark company and he guided us
around the factory. Here he is showing Mary Jean the fine points of a clapper assembly.
Stacks of finished bell castings awaiting clapper
assemblies before being shipped out.
This is a set of master template bells against
which all bells are measured. Each is marked with
the precise lathe settings for the proper tuning.
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Willard Markey showing us an unusual “four-inone” bell.
A damaged bell. The side wall of the handbells is
quite thin and can be damaged quite easily