Donors

John and Vicki Swift

Hawk Chalk Vol. XXVIII, No. 1, April 1989

Peter J. Asborno

Ye Olde Bellmaker 1912-1989

Peter J. Asborno died on March 15, the week af-

ter celebrating his 77th birthday. Pete was a pre-

mier craftsman and artisan who perfected 3 dif-

ferent designs for falconry bells. Through his bell

business, Pete carried on a vast correspondence

and was a friend to many falconers.

Pete’s interest in birds started with homing pi-

geons, and he won many trophies and ribbons in

competitions. After World War II, Pete teamed up

with the late Dr. William F. Russell for his rst ef-

forts in falconry. He ew tundra peregrines, and

there was never a better duck hawker.

Prior to his death, Pete made arrangements for

his bell business to go to a pupil (also a falconer

and hood maker), Ricardo Velarde. Ricardo

spent considerable time working with Pete, and

he is taking over his backlog of orders. It will

take time for him to get caught up with all the

back orders, but all orders accepted by Pete will

be shipped.

— Information provided by Hal Webster

Pete’s bell shop

Hawk Chalk Vol. XXI, No. 1, April, 1982

ABOUT BELLS

By Ye Olde Bellmaker — Pete Asborno

Since I wrote an article about a year ago on an-

nealing bells for longevity, I’ve had some inqui-

ries on the procedure. I have been asked if the

annealing could be done with a propane torch,

and, indeed it can. Heat only to a dull red. The

bells can be quenched in water, but I prefer to al-

low them to cool normally.

My comments and suggestions have also caused

many to examine their bells , more carefully. I

have been asked by several falconers why I do

not drill the hole (which is, in fact, a hinge) in the

area of overlapped metals in the top and bot-

tom bell halves of my Acorn bells, so that there

will be two thicknesses of metal surrounding the

hole -- a good question. The reason that I do not

is that stiffening the hole area has the same ef-

fect as using a heavier bell metal. It causes a

higher vibratory rate, resulting in higher pitch and

less volume and range. I do not sacrice tone,

volume and range for longevity. You will note that

all Indian bells are stiffened by a pulled-in, sil-

ver-soldered waist at the equator, but the hole is

drilled below this area.

I have noted in recent years a marked trend to-

ward the use of smaller bells. This is understand-

able since a great number of birds are carrying

telemetry gear also. In fact, many falconers use

only one small bell with telemetry. The smaller

the bell, the more it is affected by stiffening the

hole area. As a matter of fact, with too much

rigidity in that area a small bell becomes little

more than a rattle. I have been making a group

of small bells to meet this trend to smaller, lighter

bells. These small bells are my two-tensile, two-

metal, roundish shaped bells of silver (nickle sil-

ver) and beryllium, for kestrel, merlin, sharpshin,

and Cooper’s. They range in size from 3/32”

smaller in diameter than a dime to 1/16” smaller

than a penny. These small bells have excellent

tone, volume, and range, and their weight is held

to an absolute minimum.

— Extracted from “The Bells of Peter J.

Asborno” by Tom Gossard for The Archives

of Falconry.

Peter J. Asborno was born in Denver, Colorado

on March 6, 1912. He graduated from North

Denver High School and worked as a tool and

die maker for the Burlington Railroad. He later

became a master machinist for Coors Brewery

and Dow Chemical. He later formed his own

business in the construction supply industry.

After meeting Dr. William F. Russell and read-

ing his FALCONRY – A HUNTER’S HANDBOOK

(1940), Pete began a lifelong love affair with fal-

conry. He ew with his good friend Hal Webster,

William Russell, Willard Johnson, Larry Zuk,

and others in the Denver area. Pete was one of

the original members of NAFA (1961) (Mountain

Director 1962-1964), the Colorado Hawking

Club and the falconry Club of America (1954).

Pete was known for gamehawking with Tundra

Peregrines. His success with these birds was a

conversation topic for decades.

As successful a falconer as he was, Pete was

better known as the best bell-maker in the

world. In the early 1940s, Hal showed Pete his

rst falconry bell, an Indian bell hand-made by

Muhammed Din (Lahore, Pakistan). Because of

his mechanical experience, Pete knew he could

make a better bell. Pete made his rst bell before

he obtained his rst large falcon! Since then, a

good part of his life was devoted to falconry and

bell making.