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Author Topic: Bronze instead of copper?  (Read 2416 times)

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Offline Swamp Bow

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Bronze instead of copper?
« on: October 28, 2009, 11:46:58 pm »
Went to the local hardware store looking for copper nails to make pressure flakers.  They had some copper tacks, but nothing of any size what so ever.  They did however bronze nails.  I know the bronze is much harder and I would guess has less grab than copper, but will it still work, or should I just work harden a piece of copper wire?

BTW stopped by a local glass shop today. Told the guy what I was doing and he said "yeah, we used to get a guy that taught the boy scouts how to knapp, I think he moved though".  Well he didn't have any problem giving me some scrap 3/8" glass.  Told me to drop off a bucket, and he'd fill it in a week.

Swamp
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Offline Lobo69ss

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Re: Bronze instead of copper?
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2009, 01:19:12 am »
  There`s a glass store close to my place here that saves me the 1/4" & 3/8" "scraps"that
they were throwing out. When I first stopped in, they didn`t have a clue what i was
talking about when I told them I wanted it for knapping,
  I showed the office manager & the foreman in the cutting area what I was making, so I
 gave them each a point. Now the foreman wants me to show him how I "break the glass
like that".  I`m going over there on Monday with my little (1/2") copper bopper & pressure flakers
to do a little demo for the shop. Maybe I`ll wind up with a couple new knapping partners ;)
   

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Offline Pappy

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Re: Bronze instead of copper?
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2009, 07:14:37 am »
Nice point, I have used brass before but never tried bronze. I have also use aluminium.  :)
works pretty good but hard to beat copper. :)
   Pappy
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Offline Swamp Bow

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Re: Bronze instead of copper?
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2009, 11:05:51 am »
Thanks.  I'll keep looking for copper nails locally.  I'll give the Bronze nails a shot and hammer some copper wire till I find what I'm looking for.

Swamp
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From the middle of a swamp in SW Florida.

Offline Jaeger

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Re: Bronze instead of copper?
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2009, 01:06:06 pm »
those gutter spikes and underpinning spikes work pretty good for aluminuim.
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Offline StevenT

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Re: Bronze instead of copper?
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2009, 03:31:30 pm »
Swamp,
When I was hunting for copper nails, I didn't have any luck at the local hardware boxes either. However, they did have #4 solid copper ground wire back in the electrical section on spools that I could buy by the foot. I think it was $1.20 a foot. I bought a yard and have enough copper to last till I am to old to whack rocks. I made several different flakers, both short and ishi style and made it so they all use the same copper points and I can change them around. You can beat it with a hammer if you want, but what I did was make the points in my tools so that I can adjust them and then only have about 1/2 inch stickout out of the tool. I made flat points, sharp points, square, etc...  No complaints with the #4 wire so far, so you may want to give that a try.
Steven
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