[TheForge] silicon bronze

[Wayne Ackman]

Ries,
Do you have a suggestion for a place to order on line.  I just called to 
order some 3/8" silicon bronze rod from Atlas Metals in Denver and they 
wanted $8+ per lb.  I have searched a bit online and can't even beat 
that price.

Wayne

Ries Niemi wrote:

>
> On Jan 10, 2006, at 1:36 PM, Washington, Aubrey O. wrote:
>
>> What alloy is the brass tubing and rod you can find at the hardware 
>> store?  Can it be forged?
>>
>
> Brass/ Bronze/ Copper is a very complicated subject. Most people start 
> out assuming there is "brass" , "copper" and "bronze".
> Well, copper is an element. So pure copper is pretty much always the 
> same.
> But all the stuff called brass or bronze is any of a hundred or more 
> alloys. Each with slightly different recipes, making each good for 
> some things, and bad for others.
> Color is no guide- there are bright yellow alloys with lead, with no 
> lead, with zinc, with no zinc, and with all kinds of other things as 
> well.
> Most hardware store brass is really crummy for forging, except for the 
> leaded kind, which is pretty much impossible to forge.
> Bronzes can be really fun to forge, like silicon or naval bronze, or 
> frustrating beyond belief- like "architectural " bronze, for example, 
> which crumbles like cookie dough.
>
> Trial and error will work, but it really is nice to know what you 
> have, which means buying it new, at prices from $3 to $5 a pound.  I 
> know- thats a lot of money. But if your "free" material is a puddle on 
> the floor of your forge, its not much of a saving.
>
> And to make matters worse, some alloys are only available in sheet, 
> others in round bar but not flat or square, pipe or tube is available 
> in some but not others.
> Silicon bronze, for example, is tough to find in anything but sheet 
> and round bar.
>
> There aint no free lunch, and there is no miracle red metal solution- 
> I have bits and pieces of at least 4 alloys in the shop.
>
> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
>
> http://www.RiesNiemi.com
>
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