Here are some classic papers on bell tuning, plus a talk given by an American founder and an account of the Coventry court case. Many more papers are available in Rossing’s book Acoustics of Bells. The papers here have been selected because they show the historical development of understanding, and are out of copyright.
On Bell Tones, Canon A B Simpson, 1895
On Bell Tones No. II, Canon A B Simpson, 1896
The court case on Coventry bells, 1926
Talk at Schenectady, Clinton Meneely, 1935
Lehr’s paper on Dutch Bell-Founding and tuning, 1965
Perrin, Charnley and DePont’s investigation into bell modes of vibration, 1982