About a month ago I bought a number of pieces of 18 gauge sheet
metal metal at a jewelry supply shop that was going out of business.
I was told that its name is “Dixie Gold”, and it was described to me
as being close to bronze. I’ve looked on the web and can’t find any
about it, so I have a few questions I’m hoping someone
can answer:
Does anyone know what this metal actually is? Is it safe to solder
or must it be cold-joined? It is food safe?
Thanks much for any help you can give.
It sounds like it is “nu-gold”, basically, red brass, or “low rich
brass”. 85% copper 15% zinc.
You can solder with silver solder, and it will have a red layer of
cuprous oxides that won’t clean up in a regular pickle - use a
peroxide pickle to get it back to golden (half pickle half hydrogen
peroxide).
Amy C. Sanders - raine studios
“Dixie Gold”, also knows as “Jeweler’s Bronze” or “Merlin’s Gold”
can be ordered from Rio:
and here is a link to someone else requesting more on it
right here on Orchid:
It may be similar to Dutch metal, which is for all practical
purposes a type of brass. True bronze is a coper/tin alloy with about
10-12% tin. This has a copper-zinc-tin base with other bits and take
well to patination. You can solder it with a tin solder very easily,
silver solders are too high a MP
Nick Royall
....You can solder it with a tin solder very easily, silver solders are too high a MP
Test-soldering some of the “Dixie gold” could be your means of
telling whether you have the 85% Cu, 15% Zn alloy. This alloy melts
well above the m.p. of even hard silver solder.
Judy Bjorkman