I’ve been meaning to ask this for a long time but always forget.
Many alloys and solders call for the use of zinc. I use zinc to
de-ox my silver casting and it burns up real fast. When alloying
zinc with other metals when and how do you include it in the
melt? Also, where does one get pure zinc from? One of my internet
friends sent me a bunch but don’t know where it came
from…Dave
Usually you can find pure zinc at your local drugstore. It’s in
convenient tablet form. I heard an advertisement for cold-eaze,
they are in the lozenge form.
I've been meaning to ask this for a long time but always
forget. Many alloys and solders call for the use of zinc. I use
zinc to de-ox my silver casting and it burns up real fast. When
alloying zinc with other metals when and how do you include it
in the melt?
When adding zinc to high melting alloys such as gold alloys that
require it, don’t add pure zinc. Add a brass of known
composition, calculating your alloy from the zinc content of the
brass, and allowing the copper content of the brass to be part of
the required copper in the alloy.
The Zinc pills are not zinc metal. They usually are zinc
glutonate. work great for colds if taken soom enough. For zinc
metal a marine (boat) supply store or catalog house will have
zinc anodes for corrosion protection. These will be relatively
be relatively pure zinc. Check, West Marine or a boating magazine
for another catalog house. Jesse
Be careful with zinc. I know there is a phenomena called “The
zinc shakes” that affected people who worked in factories that
zinc plated things. The zinc does something to the central
nervous system that causes shaking. That is why you should not
wash dishes in a galvanized tub when camping etc.
Zinc is actually very dangerous to heat to high temperatures,
some of the zinc becomes vaporized and can be inhaled. It
doesn’t take much exposure to zinc vapor to cause heavy metal
poisoning.
Michael (Remembering a screaming high school shop teacher
catching a student trying weld galvanized steel)
Zinc is actually very dangerous to heat to high temperatures,
some of the zinc becomes vaporized and can be inhaled. It
doesn’t take much exposure to zinc vapor to cause heavy metal
poisoning.
Once again I think that we are dealing with only half a story
here. I’ve been alloying golds for a few years and know very well
that zinc becomes airborn with little provocation. I use up to
6.66% zinc in almost all of my 14K alloys. My understanding is
that heavy exposure will cause the “zinc shakes”. I haven’t had
the experience myself. Normally, I believe that heavy metal
poisoning refers to nickle, mercury and lead exposures along with
a few other metals. Zinc is an essential mineral and the body
will process it even with some over exposure. Anyone care to back
me up on this?
The body will process ionic Zinc as a mineral nutrient, but pure
zinc it will not. There also many types of problems that can
result from an excess of “nutrient Zinc” in the body.
There was a story on the news last night or the night before
about the dangers the newer pennies, made of copper plated zinc,
pose to children that ingest them accidentally.
Zinc is actually very dangerous to heat to high temperatures, I
haven’t been in the jewelry business long but I have been around
welding machines a long time and every welder I ever met would
rather take a beating than weld on galvanized metal. I have had
to pick up and carry out to the hospital a man that didn’t
believe in ventilating his work space. Breath the Zinc fumes at
your peril people. Regards Joe
It’s my understanding that while vapours from melting zinc are
dangerous to inhale, by the time the fumes react with the
atmosphere and turn into zinc oxide (those white flakes), they’re
rendered no longer dangerous. The reaction happens right above
the crucible, well away from being inhaled. For any zinc I might
add to alloys (and I don’t do a lot of it) I use 70/30 brass.
Brian
B r i a n =A0 A d a m J e w e l l e r y E y e w e a r =A0 @Brian_Adam1 ph/fx +64 9 817 6816 NEW ZEALAND
Yes, zinc is bad for you and the substance in “cold-eze” and
other nutritional therapies is zinc gluconate, quite different
from the zinc we use in metallurgy. I also recommend that people
not heat up galvanized steel or work with it in bare hands.The
zinc coating can gas off in heating it and you could also absorb
the zinc through your skin with extensive handling of galvanized
steel tools, sheet, wire, etc. If you must use it, wear gloves,
and if you must heat up galvanized steel in any way, do so
outside with a breeze blowing away from you and any of your
friends.
Zinc is an essential mineral and the body will process it even
with some over exposure. Anyone care to back me up on this?
I had wondered what health ailment does zinc supplements sold
over the counter address. By implication they must be a normal
part of our diet and, if lacking, zinc supplements meet that
need. Since it is sold without prescription its probably
benign.
So looked up the Brittanica.
[ ZINC GROUP ELEMENTS: Toxicity of the elements and their
compounds.
The toxicity of the metals increase in the order zinc, cadmium,
mercury. The toxicity of zinc is low. In drinking water zinc
can be detected by taste only when it reaches a concentration of
15 parts per million (ppm); water containing 40 parts per
million zinc has a definite metallic taste. Vomiting is induced
when the zinc content exceeds 800 parts per million. Cases of
fatal poisoning have resulted through ingestion of zinc chloride
or sulphide, but these are rare. Both zinc and zinc salts are
well tolerated by the human skin. Excessive inhalation of zinc
compounds can cause such toxic manifestations as fever,
excessive salivation, and a cough that may cause vomiting; but
the effects are not permanent. ]
Sounds like it will take quite a lot of zinc vapor before it
kills you but as usual moderation and caution is in order.
Zinc supplements are often prescribed to help restore normal
sense of smell in people who have olfactory problems. They are
also helpful in reducing the severity of cold symptoms
Zinc oxide paste is also used topically as a sun block
(remember the white stuff lifeguards put on their noses?)…and
as an ingredient in preparations to relieve diaper
rash…D.