HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Last night we rang in the New Year. We rang out the old before midnight. That was done with the bells half-muffled to give a more mournful sound. It's done by strapping a piece of leather to one side of the bell clapper, as shown in the picture. The leather is a more springy material that the metal. It deforms slightly when it hits the side of the bell. This makes the collision last slightly longer. The same change in momentum taking place over a longer time means that less force is involved. This doesn't get the metal vibrating as much as a direct hit with a metal clapper.
Just before midnight we took the muffles off so that we could ring in the new with a full peal of loud bells.
