Silicon bronze sheet?

[iowasculptor]

Does anyone know what the going rate for 1/4" silicon bronze sheet is? 4'X8' or 4'X10'
thanks
Matt

[wolff]

My first thought would be to contact Atlas Metal.

From their website:

http://www.atlasmetal.com/
1.800.662.0143
jsimms@atlasmetal.com


Bill
www.billwolff.com

[obseq]

Older thread, but does anyone know of a distributor for sil. bronze sheet that does NOT require a minimum order?
I received a quote from Atlas, but they require that I purchase far more material than I need.
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...Anyone?

[obseq]

Trying here again.

I can't believe how difficult getting a simple quote from distributors can be...And communicating that I don't need $600+ worth of stock



I could really use a good lead that doesn't require minimum orders if you got 'em.
Thanks, again.

[Ries]

There are very few sources nationwide.
This is a material that is not used much, so the few suppliers can call their own shots, and frequently do.

Besides Atlas, the main copper/copper alloy suppliers are:

http://www.copperandbrass.com/public...html/home.html
http://www.farmers-copper.com/
http://www.alaskancopper.com/

each has different areas of specialization- not all may carry silicon bronze sheet. each has different minimums.
none are cheap.

maybe there is another sculptor who has scrap they would sell you- I am not sure where you would find em, though.

[obseq]

I appreciate the links, Ries-- Thanks! I wasn't aware that bronze plate/sheet is a scarcely-used material.

It seems that c6550 is the standard alloy number for most silicon bronze...
I've come across a few stock lists using a different alloy number altogether for silicon bronze and was confused about the standard.

[JAZ]

Try Alaskan Copper. I bought a very small amount - a 2' x 10' sheet of 11 gauge (if I remember correctly), had them cut it in half (for 2 2'x5' pieces) and UPS delivered it. Easy. It is seriously beautiful stuff. I've also bought rod from them.
JAZ

[Ries]

Scarcely used is a relative term.

USA steel consumption is around 100 million tons a year.
Hence, most sizes and shapes of steel are available almost anywhere.

USA aluminum consumption is around 3 million tons a year.

Total copper alloy consumption, of every one of the 200 or so commercial alloys of copper, bronze, and brass, is well below that of aluminum. Probably around 2 million tons a year, total.
That includes ALL the copper wire, brass sheet, and round bars of bronze used for every application.

My guess would be that as a market percentage, silicon bronze in total was below ten percent of the total, probably well below. And a lot of silicon bronze is made in round bars- it is much easier to find round silicon bronze than sheet.
Probably, in the whole USA, fewer than ten distributors actually stock any silly bronze sheet. Maybe only five.

I do a fair amount of forging with odd bronze alloys, and it is not uncommon for me to find that only ONE company in the entire United States would stock, say, square bar in naval bronze.
Prices, as you can guess, are up to the seller to set, when virtual monopolies exist.
Bronze products can easily run 3 to 10 times per pound what copper costs, depending on size and shape.