cerrobend alloy

[686]

has any one worked with cerrobend alloy? I just got sone in apx 1 lb. ingots.. they are marked , cerrobend alloy 158 deg. they are in an octagon ingot. i see some on ebay for $23.00 per lb. i found the alloy mixture , tin 13.3%, cudmiun 10%, bismuth 50 %, and lead 26.7 % . what is it good for?

[runfiverun]

great for making fusible links for chemical fire suppression systems.
or pop-off's for deluge systems.

[oldred]

has any one worked with cerrobend alloy? I just got sone in apx 1 lb. ingots.. they are marked , cerrobend alloy 158 deg. they are in an octagon ingot. i see some on ebay for $23.00 per lb. i found the alloy mixture , tin 13.3%, cudmiun 10%, bismuth 50 %, and lead 26.7 % . what is it good for?




I see that is not the "Cerosafe" alloy because it contains Cadmium (which I think you had as cudmiun?) and as such should be used with caution since Cadmium fumes are very toxic. These alloys, because of their low melting temperature and stable shrinking characteristics, are really good for chamber casting, etc and for set-up work when machining. If you do use a Cadmium containing alloy be very careful of breathing the fumes and only use it with good ventilation, Cadmium fumes can make you very sick and it only takes a relatively short term exposure to cause permanent loss of the sense of smell.

[bumpo628]

I'd sell it to rotometals.com

[imashooter2]

Its intended use is to fill small diameter tubes so that they can be bent without collapsing and then melted back out at low temperature. It is very good for that purpose. Doesn't do a thing for boolit casters.

[686]

they need 100 lb. min. to buy. i only have 3 lb.

[trevj]

Read this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood%27s_metal

oldred, whoever told you cerrosafe didn't have Cadmium in it was full of excrement.

Adjust your alloy, and you end up with three and a bit pounds of Cerrosafe equivalent alloy. By memory, if you up the bismuth content, it is the only component you need to add to convert the alloy to CerroSafe. I'll let you figure out how much, or dig out the alloy calculator that was posted here somewhere.

Don't lick it, boil it over a flame (without water over it) or use the water for making coffee, and you're good. Y'know. Common sense.

Very small changes in the alloys have some pretty pronounced effects. CerroBend expands on cooling, gripping the tube and preventing collapse when bending, while CerroSafe shrinks a wee little bit right after it cools, then slowly expands over a long period at a steady rate (making it important that the reamer makers know exactly when the chamber cast was made)

Each of the various Cerro alloys has a list of suggested uses, as well as particular melt points.

Cheers
Trev