Is this worth gauging the upper limit of their strength?

[Crescent Pulsar S]

During the super soba story, both Shampoo and Ranma couldn't lift that bell. I know there's a seventy-ton bell in Kyoto, but how much would this bell weigh based on its apparent size?

[Spica75]

Try the table at the bottom of this:
http://brosamersbells.com/church/index.html
to get at least a vague idea. Only goes up to 3.5t but it´s a beginning.

And if you image google for "great paul bell" you get several good pictures of one that is 16.5 ton.
I´d say the one in Ranma is somewhat larger than "Great Paul", although perspective might be messing with me either direction. Worst case, it might be over twice that much.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

At the very least, I figure the bell that they couldn't lift was -- overall -- thicker (as long, or longer, than Ranma's foot) than Great Paul, so it may be heavier even if it were a bit smaller, though I think it's safe to say that it's about the same size, at the very least. I'm guessing that it's made of bronze, so I'm wondering what bells like Great Paul are made of, and whether they're the same material or not.

[Spica75]

I'm guessing that it's made of bronze

That´s the big joker in the deck, i had to go look at it to know what you were talking about, and the way it´s depicted MAY suggest that it´s actually a wooden bell...
Reason for this suspicion is due to how it´s depicted, metal bells rarely have the kind of bindings that the pictures show, and it seems somewhat similar to some old wooden buddhist style bells i´ve seen.

Sadly, internet searching for pictures at best only comes up with a few fairly small wood bells from some Californian mission, and those are not very similar at all.

Anyway, if metal, most likely bronze yes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L83XAgsl_Gg
116 ton...

so I'm wondering what bells like Great Paul are made of

Weirdly, i can´t actually find a good source that specifies material for it...
Bronze is implied though.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

I don't think it was wood. At least, I don't imagine that a wooden bell would be nearly as effective for the purpose of ringing in the new year. That, and the jaggedly-smooth cut suggests a metal composition being torn apart.

[Spica75]

I don't think it was wood. At least, I don't imagine that a wooden bell would be nearly as effective for the purpose of ringing in the new year. That, and the jaggedly-smooth cut suggests a metal composition being torn apart.

Perfectly true. I think it SHOULD be bronze as well. But the way the design is drawn means i cannot dismiss the possibility. A bronze bell doesn´t need a "girdle".

Not to mention of course that they´re rare and i´m not sure if there´s ever been any large ones used in Japan at all.
It´s frustrating though how impossible it seems to be to find any wood bell images online, can´t find even a single really good one. Just some smaller handheld ones and 2 from that Californian place(and that bell was totally bad shape, a wreck rather than a bell).