Stephen Fitz-Gerald

Andy,
That's the most unusual spot for a knocker to be mounted I've ever seen. Care to elaborate on that?

It's not an entirely unusual place for a door knocker in England, Stephen. That looks to be a combination of door knocker and door pull, similar to pulls I've seen on older English cottages and homes. Many of them look like just a heavy pull ring, but in fact actually turn to unlatch the door, more like a doorknob that we're familiar with in the States.

I really like Andy's knocker, and if it's also a pull and latch then it's double cool.

Rich

Stephen,

Elaboration commencing...
The stainless beard also acts as a handle to open an internal latch and the door is a very big door.

Cheers,

Andy

Rich,

Thanks for that. I think this was ali bronze. Unfortunately I only have an on off torch. The set is a Kemppi inverter 180 amp. Can I get additional pedal / variable torch to add on as there is more bronze work in the pipeline?

And by the way, you're right: the knocker also opens the latch when turned clockwise.

Andy

Stephen Fitz-Gerald

Thanks you guys for updating my knowledge.
I've never seen a knocker down low like that but haven't been to Britain in years...
Andy ,you could MIG weld silicon bronze,but you have to use spatter shield since there's a bit more spatter than normal.
There are certain advantages in that the weld is instant on ,as opposed to having to preheat, which would have been contra-indicated in this instance. I commend you for resolving it with a drill and tap solution...

Andy, as Stephen says, if the bronze work in the pipeline is 40mm silicon then you could mig it as you already have the Argon, you might need to get another torch or even just a liner and tips to accommodate the wire, which is expensive.Was the bronze cast? Silly question really as 40mm is too thick for repousse :) very nice.

David

SIlicon bronze MIHG wire is made in the common sizes like .030, .035 and .045 and it works fine with the regular liner and tips in my Millermatic 175.

Rich

Hi David,

Can you get 1mm bronze wire or is it only available in a lesser thickness? Can you also use Argoshield or Cougar 5 rather than pure Argon?
The face was "carved" using flap disks on a small grinder. Never used any bronze before... so nice and soft after just coming off a marine grade stainless job!

Kind regards,

Andy

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Andy.
As Rich stated ,we have many sizes available here in the states.I have no idea about availability in Europe.I just wanted to remind you if you didn't know already,to wear a respirator or some kind of filter when you grind the stuff. It reeks havoc with your sinuses. There's zinc in there also ! Danger Danger!
But like you,I love it's warmth and workability.Very expensive though,both for wire and plate...

I quite agree Stephen, when I get very excited I sometimes forget to wear something and then regret it later. It's difficult to break off from the momentum and put something on when the warmth and workability of a piece takes your imagination to a different level and the only thing that seems important at the time is coming to a conclusion. I guess it is part of being a pro to always consider the dangers however.

Stephen Fitz-Gerald

When you start coughing up traces of blood it puts it all into sharp focus...

You are obviously a very serious man with great passion for your work but I worry that you sometimes might miss place your focus of expressing one's self with peripheral distractions, I take zinc pills all the time, it's actually very good for you immune system ironically

I believe the problem they're referring to -- in addition to the caution not to breath any grinding dust, is that with alloys containing zinc the zinc oxide fumes created by welding temps are especially irritating to the lungs. 

Here we are all trying to help you Andy, have we helped? where are you?

Speaking for myself, doc, I was trying to help you. ;)

Zinc in tablets is great if needed, but what one gets from grinding is HUGE verses what is in a tablet. There are 2 MAIN types of bronze in the US, Everdure and Herculoy. Herculoy has zinc in it for better pouring. I DO NOT use it but use Everdure as no zinc and E A S Y to weld and it patinas great.

Great Door knob/knocker. Great "carving" of the face!!!

John Dach
MLCE.net

As John notes, Everdur, also known as alloy C65500 or HIgh Silicon Bronze, has no zinc. It TIG and MIG welds beautifully. Herculoy, with 4% zinc, is easier to cast, but there is no good color match in filler rod and the out-gassing from the zinc during welding is problematic and often leads to porosity in the weld zone.

Like all minerals and trace elements in the human diet, zinc is necessary, but only in the proper dosage and the proper form. Gobbling up metallic zinc will do you little good as your body cannot really metabolize it. Zinc supplements, therefore, are not elemental zinc but rather zinc compounds such as zinc gluconate, zinc sulfate, or zinc acetate, compounds that the body can absorb. When grinding zinc, the main danger is not chemical toxicity, but respiratory damage due to particulates that don't readily absorb. Similarly, when welding zinc-coated steel, the danger is from the zinc fumes that similarly occlude the lungs and are also somewhat toxic, resulting in "zinc fume fever". While not in itself generally lethal, zinc fume fever compromises the lungs, making them highly susceptible to pneumonia, bronchitis and other ailments that *can* be fatal. I had a good friend die just exactly that way; a guy who knew better than to burn off galvanizing but did it anyway and paid the ultimate price for his carelessness.

Probably more than anyone really wanted to know, huh?

Rich

Andy, most popular mig wire is silicon, it comes in 0.8mm 1.0mm and 1.2mm on 4kg and 12.5 kg spools.
Esab do an al bronze version also in the UK but I dont know the sizes, if you have a DC stick plant they also do an electrode for Al bronze. When you tried to tig the 40mm were you on DC as for other copper alloys and what filler were you using? I think your little inverter might struggle especially with that thickness.
If you did go to mig whether Al or Silicon you would have to use 100% Argon, an argon helium mix would give you more heat but is even more expensive. If your mig torch is for 1.0mm wire you would need about 200 amps, give or take and set your wire feed higher than usual, I am impressed the face was carved with flap discs, David.

Stephen Fitz-Gerald

Thanks Rich,
You're always a fount of knowledge.I so appreciate how you always seem to fill in the informational blanks...
And when it comes to the dangers of metalworking,fabrication etc.it's always better to err on the side of "too much information"than not enough...

Thanks, Stephen. It is my belief that forums such as this one can serve a useful purpose by exchanging information and I try to fill in where I have the information. I learn a tremendous amount .from the posters here, so I try to give back when I can.

My past is a jumble of different jobs, hobbies, interests and passing fancies, and I tend to be more than just a tiny bit obsessive/compulsive about gathering knowledge, so there's a lot of junk in my mental attic on a ridiculously diverse range of topics. Every now and then, some of that arcane information turns out to be useful to someone and I get a moment to shine. :-)

I'm quite certain that if one could compile all the knowledge and experience possessed by the participants in this forum into one volume, it would far too much for any two people to lift. It's a great resource for people like me who are usually trying to do something they don't know enough about. And when I discover something interesting or potentially useful in the course of that pursuit, I try to pass it on to save others the same fumbling around that I went through.

The person to really thank though, is Enrique Vega. He did a great job of creating this site and works hard to maintain and constantly improve it. My hat is off to QuiQue for all that he does!

Rich