[TheForge] Bronze

Fri Jun 9 16:45:01 EDT 2006

Sort of a "6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other" type of thing.  Also, I'm
wondering if 1/16th" is a little thick for leaves, I could save some money
going a little thinner.  Rods for stems are really out of site though.
Thanks Bruce.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bruce Freeman" <FREEMAB at pt.fdah.com>
To: <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 7:17 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Bronze

> 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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