jdb82 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 First a bit of context: I'm part way through producing (very slowly) the CAD artwork for a set of etches for a Manning Wardle Old Class i in 7mm scale. Having done the chassis and part of the bodywork, I'm thinking about the castings. I have drawn some of these up in Fusion already, and have 3D printed them. I do like metal though, and have long since wanted to get into casting. I have a mini tabletop furness on the slow boat from China, and have plans to build my own burnout furnace. Traditionally, castings have been produced in either white metal or brass. I find the quality of white metal to not always be the best, not to mention the fact I'm terrified of melting the things when soldering. I much prefer brass, but from a casting point of view, brass produces some fairly unpleasant fumes when molten. So now to the question: are there any reasons other metals are not used? They need to be 'solderable', but why not use something like copper? Price maybe? Aluminium bronze could be an option as it's copper based, with the addition of between 9-14% aluminium. Would the aluminium prevent it from taking solder? Not sure if viscosity when molten is a consideration - I guess the thinner the better for detail! On the other hand, there may be a very good reason why white metal and brass has dominated for so long! Any suggestions warmly welcomed, but bear in mind I'm not a metallurgist (yet)!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Don't our American cousins use Pewter sometimes? Harder than WM and (I think) solderable. Does it have any shrinkage concerns? WM does - but I can't remember the ratio you need to add to the master. I'm sure someone else will. Don't think lost wax brass shrinks- or does it?! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb82 Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share Posted November 15, 2020 Pewter could be an option, although I was really aiming for something with a higher melting point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 1 hour ago, jdb82 said: Pewter could be an option, although I was really aiming for something with a higher melting point. Higher melting point than white metal surely. Any idea what type/temperature of solder would be required? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb82 Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share Posted November 15, 2020 3 hours ago, 5050 said: Higher melting point than white metal surely. Any idea what type/temperature of solder would be required? From a quick Google search it looks like pewter melts at about 230oC, so a little higher than WM, by around 100oC-ish. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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