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Re: Flying bells
> Hi all! I need to get some info. from all you seasoned vets of over
> seas bell tours. (or cross country) Our church is thinking about taking
> some of our bells with us on a missions trip to Australia next year. We
> do not have experience with flying with our bells and need some advice
> from all you pros out there! We have 4 oct. (not all going) of Malmarks
> and just regular cases. I would appreciate some input either privatly
Here are some answers to your question that were posted eons ago
(old-timers might recognize the mail headers):
Q: How to pack bells for extended travel
In hb-l0495.069, Gailjberg writes to the list on 95/04/14:
You've asked at least one well seasoned traveler! You ought to be introduced
to the Hawaiian Foam-Sucking Bird, and I'll tell you a few other hints as
well.
Figure out how many boxes (music, covers, stands, percussion), "containers"
of foam (see foam sucking bird below) and bell cases you need to take.
Figure out how many people (including significant others and family) are
traveling with you. Each person will be responsible for at least one "bell"
box/bag as part of their luggage. (The smaller 6/7 cases can be carryon
luggage - you will have some explainging to do at the x-ray machine.)
First, if you have foam attached to tables (e.g., Perry), leave them at home
and borrow (or buy) some foam for the trip. If you can avoid it, do not
travel with your tables!! Try to arrange with all of your hosts on your trip
to provide 30" wide banquet tables. Almost all organizations have them
available. (Attempt to ensure that your there is enough length to accomodate
your group and that the tables are near to the same height; otherwise you'll
be using hymnals to balance the tables.)
If you do have loose foam, you might want to consider having them covered in
cotton or cordoroy - with a handle - for durability (that won't affect what
I'll say later) and at home, it will protect the foam. (You can put velcro
along two sides to attach a skirt.)
Now, the foam sucking bird!! (Rudy, you did this so well in Hawaii!!) Area
XII had it's 1992 (my, it seems almost yesterday!) conference in Hawaii. The
majority of the travelers were coming from California. I think we had only
two or three choirs from Hawaii join us during the conference. Just before
we left, our choir learned the greatest "reducing" technique!! (Borrowed
from the model airplane hobby) Take your foam, fold it in thirds both ways,
place it in a heavy large-mil garbage bag. Wrap the end of the garbage bag
around the end of the hose of a vaccuum cleaner and start it up. Watch the
air come out of the foam!!! Tape shut this new reduced foam. Place reduced
foam in another bag and repeat the process. Now place these much smaller
pieces of foam in a suitcase - you might be able to get four 3x3 pieces in a
"large" suitcase. (Cardboard boxes reinforced with tape with also secure the
foam.) This process is good for about 24-48 hours (the bag and tape seals
eventually start leaking, but the container "contains" the expansion
further). When you get to your destination, unwrap the foam and in about 15
minutes it's up to full "fluff" again. It does not hurt the foam.
If you're really tight for space, you can nest your bells. Yep - take them
apart and nest the casings - with a small layer of padding between. One
choir in Hawaii had their lower fifth octave in pieces and it fit into about
three carry on bags. (Don't attempt this unless you are comfortable with
taking apart and putting your bells back together.)
I hope I answered some of your questions.
Gail Berg
Bay Bells Handbell Choir
Bay Bells Ensemble
Mountain View, California
Secretary, Area XII
.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
In hb-l0495.084, Buschwaker writes to the list on 95/04/17:
I had the rather enlightening experience of taking my bells to Australia this
past summer. Reflecting on this experience, my advice would include:
-Pack the clappers of your bells with newspaper crumpled so they cannot
move--we actually had a bent shaft on one bell.
-Put a layer of bubble wrap inside the cases to minimize extra movement of
the bells in the cases--if your cases are older and there is a chance that
bells will shift in their space, add a wrap of tissue paper to prevent this
movement. ALL my new collars cracked slightly (wondered if the temp changes
could have affected them--the old collars survived, quite well) On your way
home--it was suggested that we could use underwear to stabilize clappers--(in
our case, this gave us the trip saying "home from down undy"
-Buy WIDE luggage straps and put 2-3 on each case to add stability. This
prevents popping open when being tenderly handled by the airlines.
-We lost corner pieces and feet off our cases. With this in mind, I would
suggest wrapping the cases in something you don't want to use again. I've
seen cardboard boxes used with shipping tape.
-Label the cases "breakable" "fragile" (there is some thought that someone
might read this notation!)
-There was a group from Colorado--Carolyn--are you out there??? that packed
their bells in suitcases and the suitcases were much better suited for travel
than the bell cases--future growth industry for traveling choirs...
-If you want to get some additional expertise on this topic, check with Bill
Griffin who oversaw all the bells we took to Japan with nary a scratch.
-Packing the rest of your equipment should give consideration to shifting and
breaking--but should be less of an ordeal than protecting your bells--and it
can easily be done well.
best of luck!
Terry B.
.
--
Jerry Olson
CU Alumni Handbell Conclave
Boulder, Colorado
olson@ncar.ucar.edu
http://stripe.colorado.edu/~olsonjg/CUbells/
"They say I'm lazy, but it takes all my time" -- Joe Walsh