Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes. Various
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filed well and turned, possesses an extraordinary hardness and firmness, and attains a high degree of polish; it is malleable and forgeable. On the latter quality are founded applications which were formerly never thought of, viz.: forged works of art for decorative purposes. An alloy of 95 parts aluminum and 5 parts copper is used here. The technical working of bronze is not materially different from that of iron. The metal, especially in a hot condition, is worked like iron on the anvil, with hammer and chisel, only that the temperature to be maintained in forging lies between dark and light cherry red. If the articles are not forged in one piece and the putting together of the separate parts becomes necessary, riveting or soldering has to be resorted to. Besides forging, aluminum bronze is well suited for embossing, which is not surprising considering the high percentage of copper. After finishing the pieces, the metal can be toned in manifold ways by treatment with acid.
II.—Copper, 89 to 98 per cent; aluminum and nickel, 1 to 2 per cent. Aluminum and nickel change in the opposite way, that is to say, in increasing the percentage of nickel the amount of aluminum is decreased by the equal quantity. It should be borne in mind that the best ratio is aluminum, 9.5 per cent; nickel, 1 to 1.5 per cent at most. In preparing the alloy a deoxidizing agent is added, viz., phosphorus to 0.5 per cent; magnesium to 1.5 per cent. The phosphorus should always be added in the form of phosphorous copper or phosphor aluminum of exactly determined percentage. It is first added to the copper, then the aluminum and the nickel, and finally the magnesium, the last named at the moment of liquidity, are admixed.
III.—A gold bronze, containing 3 to 5 per cent aluminum; specific gravity, 8.37 to 8.15. Handsome golden color. This alloy oxidizes less on heating than copper and iron, and is therefore especially adapted for locomotive fireboxes and spindles, etc.
IV.—A steel bronze containing on an average 8.5 per cent aluminum (including 1 per cent silicium); specific gravity, 7.7. Very ductile and tough, but slightly elastic; hence its use is excluded where, with large demands upon tension and pressure, no permanent change of form must ensue. This is changed by working, such as rolling, drawing, etc. {57} Especially useful where infrangibility is desired, as in machinery, ordnance, etc. At high temperature this bronze loses its elasticity again.
V.—This contains 8.5 per cent aluminum and 1 1/2 to 2 per cent silicium. Its use is advisable in cases where the metal is to possess a good elasticity, even in the cast state, and to retain it after being worked in red heat.
VI.—An acid bronze, containing 10 per cent aluminum; specific gravity, 7.65. Especially serviceable to resist oxidation and the action of acids.
VII.—Diamond bronze, containing 10 per cent aluminum and 2 per cent silicium. Specific gravity, 7.3. Very hard; of great firmness, but brittle.
Art Bronzes.
(See also Aluminum Bronzes and Japanese Bronzes under this title.)—I.—Copper, 84 parts; zinc, 11 parts; tin, 5 parts.
II.—Copper, 90 parts; zinc, 6 parts; tin, 2 parts; lead, 2 parts.
III.—Copper, 65 parts; zinc, 30 parts; tin, 5 parts.
IV.—Copper, 90 parts; tin, 5 parts; zinc, 4 parts; lead, 1 part.
V.—Copper, 85 parts; zinc, 10 parts; tin, 3 parts; lead, 2 parts.
VI.—Copper, 72 parts; zinc, 23 parts; tin, 3 parts; lead, 2 parts.
Statuary Bronze.
—Many of the antique statues were made of genuine bronze, which has advantages for this purpose, but has been superseded in modern times by mixtures of metals containing, besides copper and tin—the constituents of real bronze—a quantity of zinc, the alloy thus formed being really an intermediate product between bronze and brass. The reason for the use of such mixtures lies partly in the comparative cheapness of their production as compared with genuine bronze, and partly in the purpose for which the metal is to be used. A thoroughly good statuary bronze must become thinly fluid in fusing, fill the molds out sharply, allow of being easily worked with the file, and must take on the beautiful green coating called patina, after being exposed to the air for a short time.
Genuine bronze, however strongly heated, does not become thin enough to fill out the molds well, and it is also difficult to obtain homogeneous castings from it. Brass alone is also too thickly fluid, and not hard enough for the required fine chiseling or chasing of the finished object. Alloys containing zinc and tin, in addition to copper, can be prepared in such a manner that they will become very thinly fluid, and will give fine castings which can easily be worked with the file and chisel. The best proportions seem to be from 10 to 18 per cent of zinc and from 2 to 4 per cent of tin. In point of hardness, statuary bronze holds an intermediate position between genuine bronze and brass, being harder and tougher than the latter, but not so much so as the former.
Since statuary bronze is used principally for artistic purposes, much depends upon the color. This can be varied from pale yellow to orange yellow by slightly varying the content of tin or zinc, which must, of course, still be kept between the limits given above. Too much tin makes the alloy brittle and difficult to chisel; with too much zinc, on the other hand, the warm tone of color is lost, and the bronze does not acquire a fine patina.
The best proportions for statuary bronze are very definitely known at the present day; yet it sometimes happens that large castings have not the right character. They are either defective in color, or they do not take on a fine patina, or they are difficult to chisel. These phenomena may be due to the use of impure metals—containing oxides, iron, lead, etc.—or to improper treatment of the alloy in melting. With the most careful work possible, there is a considerable loss in melting—3 per cent at the very least, and sometimes as much as 10. This is due to the large proportion of zinc, and it is evident that, in consequence of it, the nature of the alloy will be different from what might be expected from the quantities of metals used in its manufacture.
It has been remarked that slight variations in composition quickly change the color of the alloy. The following table gives a series of alloys of different colors, suitable for statuary bronze:
| Copper | Zinc | Tin | Color | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 84.42 | 11.28 | 4.30 | Reddish yellow |
| II | 84.00 | 11.00 | 5.00 | Orange red |
| III | 83.05 | 13.03 | 3.92 | Orange red |
| IV | 83.00 | 12.00 | 5.00 | Orange red |
| V | 81.05 | 15.32 | 3.63 | Orange yellow |
| VI | 81.00 | 15.00 | 4.00 | Orange yellow |
| VII | 78.09 | 18.47 | 3.44 | Orange yellow |
| VIII | 73.58 | 23.27 | 3.15 | Orange yellow |