My foreman told me to always add 2% more tin to the bronze mix for our marine fittings

I thought it was a waste of good metal, but after a year, his fittings showed zero corrosion while mine were starting to pit. Has anyone else found a specific alloy tweak that actually paid off?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicem2911d ago

Our old shop swore by adding a half percent silicon to aluminum castings for engine brackets... stopped all the hot cracking.

robert_campbell11d ago

Yeah, and it works because silicon changes how the metal shrinks as it cools. The real trick is that half percent is a sweet spot for parts under load. Too much silicon makes the bracket too soft, too little and the cracks come back. Your old shop was basically fine-tuning the flexibility without making it weak.