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Bronze Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. For the type of metal sculpture that I do, my main use of bronze is the bronze brazing rod. When looking at a bronze brazing rod it appears to look like brass. But don't be confused. A brass rod will not braze. In other words it won't flow like the bronze rod.
Bronze brazing rod comes in flux coated and bare bronze. Flux coated is the white rod with the flux already on the rod. The other rod is a bare bronze rod. Since you need to flux to braze the flux coated rod is ready braze. If you are using the bare bronze rod it will need to be dipped in flux. The white powder in the small box is powdered flux. There is more about bronze brazing rod in the brazing chapter. Below is a photo of two10 pound tubes of brazing rod. The white is the fluxed covered rod and the more gold color is the bare bronze rod that needs to be dipped in flux. If you'll notice the bare bronze is not a bright gold. It has been in the shop for several years at least and has oxidized somewhat. For the flux covered rod you'll want to make sure that you keep it in a dry place. If stored where it is damp the flux will eventually flake off.
When I think of bronze I mostly think of bronze statues. They are a reddish bronze and over the years develop a green patina. I have worked with sheets of bronze, but from my experience it doesn't give me anymore options for finished sculpture than standard copper sheet. Which brings up a point; I like to limit what I do to a few materials. This means that I can buy larger quantities which reduces the price per pound. If I stocked seven or eight materials I would have to buy in smaller quantities. Back to table of contents
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