[TheForge] Bronze

[Bruce Freeman]

I can't speak about bronze, but many non-ferrous metals can be forged
cold - IF you anneal them properly between forging.  Copper is annealed
at a dull red heat.  Bronze would be to a lower heat - but I'm not sure
what.

Bruce
NJ

>>> rhrocker at hilconet.com 6/8/2006 1:34:36 PM >>>
In light of all of this, I'm wondering now if the 1/16th" sheet is thin

enough to just cold forge, I'm just talking about leaves here.  The
stem on 
the leaf, and the vine is another thing though.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ries Niemi" <rniemi at fidalgo.net>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2006 12:16 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Bronze


> Everdure is a trade name for Silicon Bronze, which is C655.
> Its mostly Copper, with a tiny bit of silicon in it.
> I think its the best bronze to start with- it forges nicely, can be
tig 
> welded, and is available in a variety of sizes and shapes.
>
> Here are some places to get it:
> http://www.alaskancopper.com/ 
> http://www.copperandbrass.com/public/division/project/html/home.html

> http://www.atlasmetal.com/ 
> http://www.farmers-copper.com/ 
>
> Learning to get it hot enough, but not too hot, is the hardest thing
to 
> learn- too cold, you get cracking.
> But too hot, and all of a sudden, you got nothing but a puddle.
> I tend to turn the lights down, and look for the slightest red glow,
in 
> the dark. Not a bright enough red to be even visible in sunlight.
> In normal shop light, I will forge it in the purple and browns- well
below 
> when it starts to get dull red in full light.
>
> Its fun to forge, moves pretty easily.
> The biggest drawback to Silicon Bronze is the dark brownish red color
when 
> cold- it doesnt have that Yellowy, "Bronze" color.
> For that, I use Naval Bronze, which is C465- It has a bit of lead in
it, 
> and some zinc, both of which make it trickier to forge, and much
tougher 
> to weld. But the forgeablity is good, and the color is beautiful.
>
> Be forewarned- none of this stuff is cheap- copper has gone up a lot
this 
> year, and in addition to the per pound price of the base alloys, you
get 
> charged more for certain profiles- round bar is bad enough, but try 
> pricing square bar or flat bar or angle, if you want to really punish

> yourself.
>
> ries
>
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 8, 2006, at 10:03 AM, roger olsen wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>> everdure is considered the best bronze for forging and I would
think if 
>>> you
>>> googled 'forging everdure'  you would get some good feedback. 
Actually 
>>> I am
>>> not positive everdure has an E on the end but I think so.
>>>
>>> Anvilfire may also have some instructions about forging bronze.
>>>
>>> I have forged it and the smaller the stock the more frustrating.  I
did 
>>> not
>>> find it as easy to forge as copper but it is definitely doable.  
You 
>>> will
>>> need to experiment but the learning curve will start out very
steep. 
>>> You do
>>> not want to bring it up where it shows color, just below that as I

>>> recall,
>>> keep your forge turned low,  too hot or too cold and it will break
like 
>>> a
>>> stale oatmeal cookie.  Try rubbing the stock with a block of wood
at
>>> different temp and note when it feels greasy and note the type and

>>> quantity
>>> of smoke it creates and try forging.  The hardest part is finding
the
>>> 'window' of not to hot, not to cold.
>>>
>>> Good luck
>>>
>>> Roger Olsen
>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "robert hensarling" 
>>> <rhrocker at hilconet.com>
>>> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
>>> Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2006 9:49 AM
>>> Subject: [TheForge] Bronze
>>>
>>>
>>>> I'm wanting to try my hand at forging a little bronze.  I'm going
to 
>>>> buy
>>>> just a little (one sq. foot) of 1/16th" and also some bronze rod
for
>>>> vines,
>>>> probably just 3/8's".
>>>>
>>>> Could anyone please tell me the class (220, etc) for the sheet and
rod?
>>>> This is my first venture and would like to get the numbers right. 
I
>>>> already
>>>> have Silicon Bronze rods for my tig (don't know if it can be forge

>>>> welded,
>>>> but if it can, I'm more than positive that I couldn't do it very
well).
>>>>
>>>> Seems that someone once said to use a outfit in Denver for the
stuff,
>>>> Atlas
>>>> Metal I think.
>>>>
>>>>
>>
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> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
>
> http://www.RiesNiemi.com 
>
>
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