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| Ivan Minarovic |
 Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 12:11 am |
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Hello,
Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
I wont it for artwork. Tin is too rigid. Can I buy it or make in
workshop?
Thank You. |
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| jacques jedwab |
| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 12:57 am |
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In article <a4d8c745.0507102211.683a23b2@posting.google.com>,
ivan.minarovic@holcim.com (Ivan Minarovic) wrote:
[quote:7fab8c5f02]Hello,
Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
I wont it for artwork. Tin is too rigid. Can I buy it or make in
workshop?
Thank You.
[/quote:7fab8c5f02]
There are several formulas of very soft, low T melting Bi-Sn alloys. Look
for "Wood's metal" with google. Can be prepared in workshop, but be
careful: never in a platinum crucible!...
J.J. |
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| jacques jedwab |
| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:42 am |
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In article <a4d8c745.0507102211.683a23b2@posting.google.com>,
ivan.minarovic@holcim.com (Ivan Minarovic) wrote:
[quote:0a2a8f3133]Hello,
Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
I wont it for artwork. Tin is too rigid. Can I buy it or make in
workshop?
Thank You.
[/quote:0a2a8f3133]
You find lists of soft alloys when looking for:
"fusible alloys"
"low melting point alloys"
either with google, or in any edition of the "Handbook of chemistry and physics"
J.J. |
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| Mark Thorson |
| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 7:42 am |
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Ivan Minarovic wrote:
[quote:0b598e39ff]Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
I wont it for artwork. Tin is too rigid. Can I buy it or make in
workshop?
[/quote:0b598e39ff]
Sodium can be easily cut with a knife.
Did you require any other properties? |
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| Kevin G. Rhoads |
| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:59 am |
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[quote:b3763d3405]Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
Sodium can be easily cut with a knife.
[/quote:b3763d3405]
Uhmm, don't you see potential problems with suggesting Sodium for the
intended application? |
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| Uncle Al |
| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:10 am |
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Ivan Minarovic wrote:
[quote:cc2f47b067]
Hello,
Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
I wont it for artwork. Tin is too rigid. Can I buy it or make in
workshop?
Thank You.
[/quote:cc2f47b067]
Lead is soft but you have problems with toxicity and unattractive
tarnish. Bismuth has a Brinell hardness of 94.2 MN/m^2 (soft - about
2.5 on the Mohs scale). It's rather brittle, but it does develop a
marvelously iridescent surface oxidation when heated in air.
Carve plastic and electrolessly plate thereafter. Then you can
electroplate to any thickness you want. Or annoint with Aquadag and
directly electroplate.
--
Uncle Al
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
(Toxic URL! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/qz.pdf |
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| Mark Thorson |
| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 1:12 pm |
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"Kevin G. Rhoads" wrote:
[quote:5ceae6df55]Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable by knife.
Sodium can be easily cut with a knife.
Uhmm, don't you see potential problems with suggesting Sodium for the
intended application?
[/quote:5ceae6df55]
If the original poster had any other restrictions on the material,
he should have mentioned them. For all we know, he might
like the patina which forms on a raw sodium surface. |
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| Gordon Couger |
| Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:20 am |
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[quote:bbee429c17]Ivan Minarovic wrote:
Hello,
Which metal alloy is the most soft, easily cutting, workable
by knife.
I wont it for artwork. Tin is too rigid. Can I buy it or make in
workshop?
Thank You.
[/quote:bbee429c17]
The gold standard of workable metals it gold it is a bit pricey,
A great deal of work has been done with silver. Pure silver
is soft and easy to work.
You might find an alloy of copper that would work well. It is a
bit sticky as is. Adding almost anything to it will make it work
better.
With the proper tools T3 aircraft aluminum behaves very well.
But adapting hand tools to it might be difficult.
You might consider working wax and casting it in metal.
Gordon Couger
Stillwater, OK
www.couger.com/gcouger |
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