[TheForge] Bronze

Sat Jun 10 13:05:28 EDT 2006

Humm..it would have to be annealed, it's pretty stiff, but that sounds 
interesting.  That's what I'm thinking about right now in fact, are the 
stems.  For the grapes I ordered a bunch of annealed rough ground ball 
bearings, several sizes.  To make the clusters, I'm going to get a metal or 
glass pan of moist sand, scoop out the middle area until it looks like a 
cluster of grapes had been in there, then start placing the ball bearings 
into the scooped out area.  The side that I'm looking at and MIG welding is 
the back side, so I may not even need the tiny grape stems, but keep in 
mind, I haven't tried any of this yet.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jerry Frost" <frosty at customcpu.com>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, June 10, 2006 12:00 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Bronze

> How about using bronze tig welding rod for your stems.
>
> Frosty
> -------------------------------
> If it ain't forged
> it ain't real.
> Wrought iron is.
> The FrostWorks
>
> Meadow Lakes, AK.
>
> http://www.artmetalradio.com/
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "robert hensarling" <rhrocker at hilconet.com>
> To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 12:45 PM
> Subject: Re: [TheForge] Bronze
>
>
>> 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.
>>> >>>>
>>> >>>>
>>> >>
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>> >> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>> >> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>> >> theforge mail list group photo site is
>>> >> http://www.photoaccess.com
>>> >> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>> >> password:  anvil
>>> >> ___________
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> > Ries Niemi
>>> > Industrial Artist
>>> >
>>> > http://www.RiesNiemi.com
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>> > theforge mail list group photo site is
>>> > http://www.photoaccess.com
>>> > Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>> > password:  anvil
>>> > ___________
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>> password:  anvil
>>> ___________
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>>> password:  anvil
>>> ___________
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
>> theforge mail list group photo site is
>> http://www.photoaccess.com
>> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
>> password:  anvil
>> ___________
>>
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
> 