[TheForge] Bronze casting

[Ries Niemi]

On Tuesday, December 2, 2003, at 12:19 PM, Rich Maynard wrote:

> I may have forgotten to mention that I'm in the UK. We can't just pop 
> down
> to Walmart and pick up some Naval bronze, you know! After a brief trawl
> around, the bronzes I can easily get hold of are a phosphor bronze
>
> Cu  %  REM        Ni  %  0.10 max.
> Sn  %  10.0-11.5  Fe  %  0.10 max.
> Zn  %  0.05 max.  Si  %  0.02 max.
> Pb  %  0.25 max.  S   %  0.05 max.
> P   %  0.50-1.00
>
> or a nickel aluminium bronze
>
>         Al    Fe   Ni   Mn   Si   Sn   Pb    Zn   other
> % min.  8.5   4.0  4.0  -    -    -    -     -    -
> % max.  10.0  5.5  5.5  0.5  0.1  0.1  0.05  0.4  0.05
>
> (which 'meets Admiralty standards!')
>
> I'd be interested in giving this a go - are either of these worth 
> trying?
>

I cant believe there is no heavy industry left in the UK- there must be 
a metal supplier that stocks bronze. Here in the US, where all our 
manufacturing is supposed to have moved to China, I can get about 10 
different types of bronze delivered to my door the next day, and I live 
way out in the country. Silicon bronze and naval bronze are often used 
in the marine industries- arent there any boat builders left in 
Blighty? find one and ask where they get their silicon bronze-
You are confirming my supposition that the only industries left in the 
British Isles are custom mobile phone rings, rave clothing, and illegal 
drugs with really clever brand names pressed in the tablets.

Anyway- your phosphor bronze is probably something like our alloy C52400
supposed to have good cold workability, but not very forgeable. Any 
lead usually makes it forge crummy.

and the nickel aluminum is approximately C63000
This one is hot workable-  probably the better choice of the two. I 
have a friend who has done some forging with aluminum bronzes, and he 
says they are quite forgeable. He is, however, a master smith- he can 
make anything look easy. I have not forged any myself.

ries