Old N Rusty Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 anyone have experience in forging this metal for exterior decorative purpsis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Silicone bronze is my favorite copper metal for forging. As with any non-ferrous, you gotta watch tthe heat. Easier to get color-matching TIG rod too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 anyone have experience in forging this metal for exterior decorative purpsis? I have forged about 40 pounds of 655 alloy (from the company that has an advert in ABANA publications)...5/8" round and 1/2 x1" rectangle.... and all used inside (coffee tables) with a lightly sanded then waxed finish. The forging is OK provided you stay in the dull red to light orange color in a dark room (lost only one bend to overheating). I have done scroll ends, twists and even some true knots tied in tapered textured 3/8" bits. Drills and taps OK with lube. I have no idea how it holds up outside as is..may oxidize quickly to green patina or stay ugly brown for a while. I know of no clear coat which works for a long time. I have had a forged sanded bar in the garage for about six years..no green yet. It will turn black when forged and needs cleaning. After forging it will be "soft" (like aluminum, but a bit stronger) so unless you cold work it a bit it can be bent in picket sizes by a "strong man". If you have larger bends to do I suggest hot texturing and then cold bending them to shape. For small scrolls you can do all that hot as with steel...just not as hot as steel. Take a bar and play with it..creep up on the temps for forging and then intentionally overheat and forge to see the results. On overheated areas it will break when bending and show a large fracture. I have not Oxy or TIG welded it...never welded on it at all, but it should TIG well. That of any help? Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 DANGER Will Robinson DANGER! Unlike iron/steel there is no practical length of bronze long enough to hold in a bare hand while the other end is hot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 i thank y'all, hot in the off hand? i bet, is it short cold? or as was stated a need to work harden exists, i have many questions and it will be fun to play with a new metal ,relative to steel costs is it expensive? are all common bar sizes stocked? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The stuff is a dream to forge, weld and machine and you really couldn't ask for a more beautiful metal when finished properly. You can cool the end your holding in the slack tub. For big stuff to get a slow even heat I put a piece of steel pipe in my forge and put the bronze inside of that. Better keep every little piece and do lots of planning at $10-12 per pound. Minimal sizes are run, I needed 60' of 3/4" x 2" for a job and had to get it water-jet cut. I snagged 100lbs. of drop from a sculptor that just finished a job for around $6 a pound. To bad its all gone :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arftist Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Yes, it welds very well. I have worked with quite a bit. It can be cold worked or bent hot. Being an actual bronze it is impervious to outdoor conditions. What are your questions? I usualy tig, but have migged in the distant past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 I can't think of a better metal for exterior stuff........The Navy can't be wrong, they use plenty........... Keeping the ''handles'' cool is simple, just pick up a siphon blow gun a napa, etc, or you can rig your own with a T pipe fitting......If you have a compressor.... If you forge points, tapers, try to do em in one heat. Putting em back inn the forge when the material is thin is dicey.... If you think it maybe too hot, shut the forge down, don't touch it till after it cools a bit........The way I tell the correct forging temp is if the colour red you see has a darkness to it , good to go.........darkness gone........ Danger Rusty Danger! Oh and EVERYBODY I've ever seen breaks a piece or two from over heating , buy a little extra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Thank you Mr. Dillon. It sounds like you been there done that. You gave me the magic information i needed to convince this potential client to go ... somewhere. At those prices he will just have to put up with "bronze" colored steel. I have noticed in my realitively short time in IFI, a seemingly "modest" disdain for any discussion on material costs, and ESPECIALLY ,what to charge, and what you got for a job. I ask you please. Where does one go to learn such vital information? There many who never got any help, before IFI, and we get an auction notice in the mail, fellow had to give up, sell his tools, and get a job.( horror) A fragment of a poem that got stuck in my head a long time ago; The fountains are dusty, the hinges are rusty. The gate swings with tiny screams, on the graveyard of mens dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The bz costs 10x +- that of steel.........but labor isn't 10x...........at a minimum I charge 2x that of steel......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 There is a bunch on the business side, I have no magic answer. Check out this thread and I also remember Grant had one about "perceived value" that was really good, but I cant find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 If i only knew what the client was comfortable with spending, i would make him think i was on his side, and we are going to work on saving him some money, it makes them feel special, the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Plus you can always charge more for shiney. It hipnotizes them. Ah, my precious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawno Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Hey, Rusty, great poem. Can't help much with the other stuff. The landlady used to say "An idea without a plan for how to accomplish it is just a dream." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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