Various and Asundry Metals


Turn your Iron Into Copper

from a Gordon Williams demo

Get a bottle of Root Kill. I got some in the plumbing department at Home Depot for $13. The ingredients list says 99.5% copper sulfate. Put about 6 oz. copper sulfate per 1 gal distilled water and shake or stir until dissolved. Apply (brush, spray or wipe on), wash with clear water, dry; then buff with dry cloth and clear coat (rattle can clear or some other sealer). Like any patina, the process works better when the metal is clean. Gordon used Scotch Brite to shine up high spots on bark texture. The shiny spots turned bright copper instantly. I found that the copper begins to age rapidly and in a short time will look like an old penny if the clear in not applied right away.

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.

Brass is a substitutional alloy. It is used for decoration for its bright gold-like appearance; for applications where low friction is required such as locks, gears, bearings, doorknobs, ammunition casings and valves; for plumbing and electrical applications; and extensively in musical instruments such as horns and bells for its acoustic properties. It is also used in zippers. Brass is often used in situations where it is important that sparks not be struck, as in fittings and tools around explosive gases.

For more detailed information click here to go to Wikipedia.


Bronze

Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and tough, and it was so significant in antiquity that the Bronze Age was named after the metal. However, historical pieces were often made interchangeably of brasses (copper and zinc), and bronzes with different compositions, so modern museum and scholarly descriptions of older objects increasingly use the more inclusive term "copper alloy" instead.

For more detailed information click here to go to Wikipedia.


Silicon Bronze

Source: Encyclopeia Britannic _ Alloys of Copper

Silicon bronze usually contains about 96 percent copper. The remainder may be silicon alone, but more often a little manganese, tin, iron, or zinc also is added. These alloys were developed originally for the chemical industry because of their exceptional resistance to corrosion in many liquids. Their application later extended far beyond this field, chiefly because of their good casting...

Source: Copper Development Association

These are alloys of copper with 3% silicon and 1% manganese. Silicon bronzes have a good combination of strength and ductility, good corrosion resistance and easy weldability. They are used in architectural applications such as:

The alloy is a firm favourite with sculptors and metalsmiths because of its workability, longevity and attractive golden bronze colour.







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