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Posted by Paul K. Dickman on May 12, 2008, 2:29 pm
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> Paul K. Dickman wrote:
>>
>> Pewter alloys are wacky, in that they get softer and more malleable with
>> cold working.
>> Freshly cast they are fairly brittle and hard because the crystals are
>> big and chunky. As you work them the grain gets more refined and they
>> work like butter.
>>
>> Paul K. Dickman
>>
>>
> Interesting you should say that as the the guy that supplied with the
> pewter sheet mentioned it work softening in his experience but he makes
> sheet and other products from cast ingots IIRC. My main experience with
> pewter (Britannia metal) is with rolled sheet upto 2mm thick although I do
> some casting and having just bent a cast handle with about 10mm thickness
> quite significantly without breakage, possibly that is a small section and
> the grain size is still small due to rapid cooling.
It's not like cast iron.
It is still malleable as cast, otherwise we would not be able to roll out
sheet.
I'll bet you heard it sing when you bent it.
Paul K. Dickman
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Posted by David Billington on May 12, 2008, 3:05 pm
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Paul K. Dickman wrote:
>
>> Paul K. Dickman wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Pewter alloys are wacky, in that they get softer and more malleable with
>>> cold working.
>>> Freshly cast they are fairly brittle and hard because the crystals are
>>> big and chunky. As you work them the grain gets more refined and they
>>> work like butter.
>>>
>>> Paul K. Dickman
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> Interesting you should say that as the the guy that supplied with the
>> pewter sheet mentioned it work softening in his experience but he makes
>> sheet and other products from cast ingots IIRC. My main experience with
>> pewter (Britannia metal) is with rolled sheet upto 2mm thick although I do
>> some casting and having just bent a cast handle with about 10mm thickness
>> quite significantly without breakage, possibly that is a small section and
>> the grain size is still small due to rapid cooling.
>>
> It's not like cast iron.
> It is still malleable as cast, otherwise we would not be able to roll out
> sheet.
>
> I'll bet you heard it sing when you bent it.
>
> Paul K. Dickman
>
>
>
Not sing but I did feel little clicks.
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Posted by Paul K. Dickman on May 12, 2008, 3:33 pm
Please log in for more thread options
> Paul K. Dickman wrote:
>>
>>> Paul K. Dickman wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Pewter alloys are wacky, in that they get softer and more malleable
>>>> with cold working.
>>>> Freshly cast they are fairly brittle and hard because the crystals are
>>>> big and chunky. As you work them the grain gets more refined and they
>>>> work like butter.
>>>>
>>>> Paul K. Dickman
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Interesting you should say that as the the guy that supplied with the
>>> pewter sheet mentioned it work softening in his experience but he makes
>>> sheet and other products from cast ingots IIRC. My main experience with
>>> pewter (Britannia metal) is with rolled sheet upto 2mm thick although I
>>> do some casting and having just bent a cast handle with about 10mm
>>> thickness quite significantly without breakage, possibly that is a small
>>> section and the grain size is still small due to rapid cooling.
>>>
>> It's not like cast iron.
>> It is still malleable as cast, otherwise we would not be able to roll out
>> sheet.
>>
>> I'll bet you heard it sing when you bent it.
>>
>> Paul K. Dickman
>>
>>
> Not sing but I did feel little clicks.
That's it.
Paul K. Dickman
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Posted by Christopher Tidy on May 10, 2008, 12:07 pm
Please log in for more thread options stuartwilliammurray@googlemail.com wrote:
> I'm hoping to build a small pipe organ this summer, and as well as a
> rank of wooden pipes, I would like to make a set of small metal ones.
> The largest would be 2', going down to a few inches. The trouble is
> that most organ builders cast their own mixture of lead and tin for
> pipe building, which I don't belive is comercially available. Can
> anyone suggest another sheet metal that is:
>
> Easily worked
> Solders well with an iron
> Isn't too hard to get hold of
> Isn't going to break the bank
The distinctive "spotty metal" is, as you correctly state, an alloy of
lead and tin. The exact composition varies, but 50% lead to 50% tin is
not uncommon. Historically, organ builders have chosen to use an alloy
with a greater proportion of tin for their best quality work.
You might be able to make your own sheets of metal using some kind of
lead-tin solder, but I suspect this wouldn't be straightforward. I would
suggest you contact some professional organ builders, explain your
project, and see if they can help you.
An explanation of the history of spotty metal is given in the book
"Engineering Properties and Applications of Lead Alloys" by Sivaraman
Guruswamy.
Best wishes,
Chris
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Posted by Trevor Jones on May 10, 2008, 12:18 pm
Please log in for more thread options Christopher Tidy wrote:
> stuartwilliammurray@googlemail.com wrote:
>
>> I'm hoping to build a small pipe organ this summer, and as well as a
>> rank of wooden pipes, I would like to make a set of small metal ones.
>> The largest would be 2', going down to a few inches. The trouble is
>> that most organ builders cast their own mixture of lead and tin for
>> pipe building, which I don't belive is comercially available. Can
>> anyone suggest another sheet metal that is:
>>
>> Easily worked
>> Solders well with an iron
>> Isn't too hard to get hold of
>> Isn't going to break the bank
>
>
> The distinctive "spotty metal" is, as you correctly state, an alloy of
> lead and tin. The exact composition varies, but 50% lead to 50% tin is
> not uncommon. Historically, organ builders have chosen to use an alloy
> with a greater proportion of tin for their best quality work.
>
> You might be able to make your own sheets of metal using some kind of
> lead-tin solder, but I suspect this wouldn't be straightforward. I would
> suggest you contact some professional organ builders, explain your
> project, and see if they can help you.
>
> An explanation of the history of spotty metal is given in the book
> "Engineering Properties and Applications of Lead Alloys" by Sivaraman
> Guruswamy.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Chris
>
Saw a documentary show on the tube a few years back, that showed the
process of building organ pipes, starting with the raw metal, melted and
poured into a spreader to make sheets. Interesting stuff!
Looked like there was lots of room for trial and error methodology to
be put to use. :-)
Cheers
Trevor Jones
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