Bronze

[Phil Dory]

I was hoping to have some rudder parts machined by a relative, who has a lathe. Where can one purchase a small 'chunck' of marine bronze, say 6x4x3? I've carried out all the regular searches, but came up empty.

[SV Papillon]

alaskan copper and brass (http://www.alascop.com/)

atlas metals (http://www.atlasmetal.com/)

ask for cut offs

Jake

[Canoeyawl]

That "small chunk" is about 23 lbs.
The going rate for raw SB casting ingots is about $7.50/lb
so your close to a $200 chunk!
You may want to rethink your design to lighten it up a bit, or post more details of what you actually need.
I would think about casting, then machining. With casting, depending on the complexity, you will only pay for the weight of the finished product. Most Art foundrys will cast from lost wax patterns and charge by the pound.
Bronze is pretty expensive to turn into chips these days.

[dpincus]

http://www.metalsource.com/default.htm

[S B]

I would try the local scrap dealer, chances are he might have the items you need. Scrap dealers are a resourceful bunch, anything that may have a value over scrap price, is thrown into the corner for a while,to see if anyone is looking for it. If not, pick over the lot and find suitable material. Stay away from art founderies, the lost wax process is expensive. If you have the skill ,make a match plate, and have the items sand cast.

[TMny]

some sources worth checking which specialze in small lots--

http://www.onlinemetals.com/
http://www.onlinemetals.com/index.cfm?partnerid=97
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=1028&step=2&top_cat=850
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=301&step=2&top_cat=850
http://www.onlinemetals.com/bronzeguide.cfm

http://www.mcmaster.com/

[john welsford]

I'm collecting bronze for a 26in x 24in 3 blade high aspect ratio prop plus all the fittings for the rest of the boat. At a guess I need close to 150 kg of bronze. I am finding it cheapest to watch Trade Me ( NZ version of EBay) for old props and fittings. My foundryman can asses the metals as he chops it up and the stuff thats unsuitable for the prop will go into the lower stressed fittings. He charges a surprisingly low figure for casting work, anyone in NZ needing marine foundry work should talk to Roger at Siverstream foundry in Tauranga, good guy and a sailer himself.
This is proving way cheaper than buying ingots.

John Welsford



I was hoping to have some rudder parts machined by a relative, who has a lathe. Where can one purchase a small 'chunck' of marine bronze, say 6x4x3? I've carried out all the regular searches, but came up empty.