"Milton Waddams" wrote
Which is better for general maritime hardware such as hinges, clasps,
cleats, etc: Brass or Bronze?What is naval bronze? Thanks, as always,


Brass is terrible for anything on a boat. The zinc electrolyzes ouot
of it, leaving huge corrosion stains and the materiel turns pink &
brittle. Not that there's anything wrong with turning pink, but
brittle is not nice.



"Russell Johnson" wrote:
Milton,

You can search your materials he

http://www.principalmetals.com/properties/step1.asp


Cool link, thanks


Naval bronze is a very strong copper alloy which is great for deck fittings,
hinges and the like. It has a low coefficient of friction and is long
wearing. It comes in leaded and unleaded versions.

Are you sure? I thought it all has lead in it.


.... It's tough to tell what kind of bronze/brass you are buying in
premade fittings, the package just says "brass" or "bronze". If you have
specific questions I'll be more than happy to help you out. Softer metals
tend to wear less than harder metals when they rub against each other.
Stainless is terrible for hinges and close tolerance sliding parts.


SS is terrible for machine parts, yes. For hinges, doesn't matter so
much. They only get a very little friction and no danger of galling.
The worst thing about SS hinges is that they have a tendency to lock
up from electrolysis against other metals.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King