[Public-List] questions about bronze fasteners

[George Dinwiddie]

On 5/10/11 8:54 AM, Gordon Laco wrote:
> There are alloys of bronze that are 'stronger' than stainless steel... An
> example would be aluminium bronze.  However, most such alloys are
> considerably more expensive than stainless steel.   Because there are so
> many alloys of bronze available, it is important to have good reasons to
> have faith in the veracity of your bronze gear's maker's claims of what
> alloy they supply.  That's a whole separate topic and I have amusing stories
> I could tell with a beer in front of me.

Do you know how, in general, aluminum bronze compares with silicon 
bronze in a marine environment?  I've noticed that off-cuts of aluminum 
bronze are generally available on eBay, but not much silicon bronze.

> Another issue with stainless steel is that it needs to be exposed to O2 in
> air for the anti-corrosive properties 'work'.  It is for this reason that
> appropriate alloys of bronze are better for fastenings in places where they
> will live buried in the materials they hold or underwater, than stainless
> steel.  So wrapping it with too much tape,  or putting plastic bags over
> various rigging components (or anything) during winter lay-ups are counter
> productive practices when dealing with stainless steel rigging.

I've got a good photo of what happens with underwater stainless on 
http://alberg30.org/maintenance/Steering/CreviceCorrosion/

  - George

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