[TheForge] berillium check

[Ries Niemi]

>
> Just checked with mt roommate, Rob. He says it's Alloy B- It's a 
> silicon
> bronze with just a hair of aluminum in it.. Might have nominal nickle
> content, but truly nominal- not enough for off gassing. Only reason 
> there
> would be something other than alloy B in a valve would be for special
> purpose valves, and they tend not to be globe valves. He's just fresh 
> out of
> the Navy as a plumber on a nuclear sub, so he should know his stuff. 
> You
> should be safe.
>

Copper alloys  ALWAYS begin with C- so "Alloy B" is either navy slang, 
a trade name for a proprietary alloy, or, possibly, shorthand for 
C65100 (B), which is low silicon Bronze. This is a 98.5% copper, 1.5% 
Silicon alloy.
There is also C65500 (A) which is high silicon bronze, with 3% silicon 
in it.
Neither has any aluminum.

There are a couple of silicon/aluminum alloys, C63600, and C63800. 
Neither has a B.

I think what Hoechwa meant when he used the rattlesnake analogy is that 
since there are over 100 different copper alloys, many very similar 
looking, there is no way of knowing what the heck you have, short of 
either buying new with certs, or paying for a  chemical analysis.
Its probably unlikely there is beryllium in the surplus bronze valve 
bodies. But is it worth taking a chance?
Dead is Dead.
I buy several bronze alloys from time to time, new. Yep, its more 
expensive. But then I know what I have, and how it will act when 
forged, or machined.
Even if doesnt have beryillium in it, chances are high it may have 
lead, or zinc. Neither is exactly healthy for forging or welding.

Industry uses all kinds of different metals all the time, for their own 
reasons. Some forge very well, others are a disaster. If you can afford 
trial and error, I suppose junkyard steels are ok, but if I am gonna 
put a lot of time into something, I find paying a bit extra for a known 
alloy really is worth it.

Ries Niemi
Industrial Artist

http://www.RiesNiemi.com