Copper Glossary

	COPPER GLOSSARY Terms used to help describe copper and brass items. © Vin Callcut 2004-6

	This includes many terms relevant throughout the book covering antique and collectible copper and brass. Other terms will be covered in relevant chapters of the book when published. Most terms are current but others are obsolescent or obsolete terms that occur in some of the useful literature. Some of them have been used very loosely in the past and many of the older names for alloys have many variations in composition quoted in different sources. Trade names and most industrial terms are generally not included. Brass is conventionally described as ‘% copper/ % zinc’ but also has many other industrial designations and specifications mentioned. Some sources do not agree on a few of these terms!
	(If ordering copper alloys in serious quantities for production, always ensure that a current standard is specified. This will cover composition, form, condition and properties.)

		Alphabetical Listing of Terms

	Admiralty brass	70/30 brass with 1% tin added for extra corrosion resistance.
	Adnic	70 Copper, 29 nickel, 1% tin alloy for resistance to corrosion and heat.
	Ageing	Loose term covering some surface treatment techniques used to make objects look old. Also a metallurgical term to describe hardening an alloy by heating it to a temperature where a precipitate forms from a super-saturated solid solution.
	Alcumite	Copper 90%, aluminium 6%, iron 3%, manganese 1% corrosion resistant alloy for pickling tanks made by Durion Co, Dayton, Ohio.
	Aldurba	76% copper, 22% zinc, 2% aluminium brass made by Charles Clifford & Son., Birmingham under BNFMRA patent..
	Alphenide	Nickel silver, generic term
	Alpakka, Alpacca	Nickel silver, 65% copper, 22% zinc, 13% nickel. Name used in Germany and Scandinavia.
	Alpha brass	Brass containing up to 36% of zinc is usually the single alpha phase with good cold working properties.
	Alpha-beta brass	Brass containing over 36% of zinc or with other additions usually has two phases present in the crystal structure, alpha and beta. They are used for castings, extrusions and for hot stampings.
	Alumbro	ICI metals name for 76% copper, 22% zinc 2% aluminium brass patented by BNFMRA.
	Aluminium brass	High copper brass with aluminium added for improved corrosion resistance. This is often used for condenser tubes.
	Aluminium bronze	Copper-aluminium alloys with up to 13% of aluminium, usually also with other additions such as iron, manganese, nickel and/or silicon. These alloys are strong, hard and have excellent resistance to marine corrosion. They are therefore commonly used for making propellers, bearings, gears, valves, and pipefittings for seawater use.
	Amberoid	Trade name used by Barker and Allen of Birmingham for 15% nickel silver.
	Ambrac	Nickel silver, Grade A has 20% nickel, Grade B has 30% nickel.
	Ankh	Ancient Egyptian symbol for life adopted by Greek philosophers as the sign for copper. Also called ‘Key of Life’ and ‘Crux Ansata’.
	Annealing	Heating a metal in order to soften it after hardening by cold work or heat treatment. After annealing, quenching is not necessary but may be of advantage in helping to remove scale.
	Anode copper	Cast slabs of copper from the fire refining processes used as starters for electrolytic refining.
	Antique Copper	(also Ant.Cop, A/C, Oxidised Copper and Ox Cop.) A general term used to indicated a dull matt copper finish with areas of darker relief which give emphasis to parts of the product. The base metal is often brass.
	Antlerite	A copper sulphide ore.
	Argentan	Another early name for nickel silver
	Argentine Plate	Electro-plated nickel silver, term used in Sheffield c1860.
	Argyrolith	Another early name for nickel silver, also alfenide and others.
	Arko Metal	An 80/20 brass
	Arsenical copper	Copper with phosphorus and arsenic additions that give good strength and resistance to fire cracking. It is used primarily for the manufacture of boiler fireboxes.
	Arsenical brass	Brass with improved corrosion resistance containing arsenic, and frequently aluminium.
	Avialite	American Brass Co. term for 90/10 copper/aluminium alloy.
	Azurite	A copper carbonate ore.
	Barberite	Barber Asphalt Co., Philadelphia term for 85/5/5/5 gunmetal.
	Batterium Alloy	Batterium Metal Co, Market Harborough term for 90/10 copper/aluminium alloy with 1% nickel.
	Bazar	Barker and Allen, Birmingham, term for 8% and 10% nickel silvers.
	Bell metal	Copper tin alloy with much higher tin content than conventional bronze in order to make it hard and sonorous. It is too brittle to be used for many other applications. (The term was also sometimes confusingly used in the nineteenth century to describe a much cheaper 60/40 cast brass that does not contain the tin needed to make sonorous bells.)
	Bemal	Yorkshire Copper Works term for 70/30 brass for tubes.
	Benares Ware	Benares, now called Varenisi, is the Hindu Holy City and is sited in the River Ganges in India. It is in Utah Pradesh which has a long history of copper mining. The brassware is intricately decorated with Sanskrit inscriptions and Hindu icons.
	Benin Bronze	Cast copper alloy products of great artistry and craftsmanship produced in Benin, Nigeria from the 13^th to 19^th centuries. Composition ranged from high-copper to brasses.
	Beryllium Bronze	see beryllium copper.
	Beryllium copper	Heat treatable copper-beryllium alloy of high strength and hardness. Used for making springs and non-sparking tools.
	Beta brass	A brass with very high zinc content may be mostly of beta structure. This is brittle and used only as a brazing filler alloy.
	Billet	A cylindrical shape cast in a refinery and intended for subsequent extrusion. (Copper industry definition)
	Blue verditer	Basic copper carbonate
	Blue vitriol and
	Blue stone	Copper sulphate crystals.
	B. M. A.	Bronze Metal Antique - A greeny fawn colour obtained by baking solid bronze metal in a damp atmosphere. The same colour can also be obtained by oxidising brass.
	BNF, BNFMRA	British Non-Ferrous Metals Research Association.
	Bobbiere Metal	66/34 brass
	Bordeaux mixture	Copper sulphate-lime mixture used as an adherent fungicide, especially for grapevines.
	Bornite	Copper-iron sulphide ore.
	Brass	Copper-zinc alloy, also a term used to describe a memorial plate in a church, coinage or bearing block. Originally the term also covered copper-tin alloys now called bronzes. It is sometimes also used to describe a tin-zinc spelter made for the manufacture of organ pipes.
	Brass lump	Miners term for massive iron pyrites (fools’ gold).
	Brazing	Joining metals by filling clean joints with a suitable filler metal. Temperatures are higher than for soldering and a good flux is usually needed.
	Bremen blue	A basic copper carbonate.
	Bristol Metal	Brass, 75.5/24.5. (Bristol was the main centre for brass production in England before the growth of Birmingham.)
	Britannia metal	A type of pewter having the tin hardened with antimony and copper. Sometimes marked EPBM when plated. It is used mainly in sheet form but can be cast.
	Britannia Silver	Silver containing 4.16% of copper compared with 7.5% in Sterling Silver.
	British Plate	Alternative to Sheffield plate having a core of nickel silver instead of copper. Patented 1836.
	Bronze	Copper-tin alloy, term also loosely used for some other copper alloys. Oldest copper alloy, still ideal for statuary. The addition of tin to copper makes it easier to cast, strengthens and hardens the metal.
	Brunswick Green	Copper oxychloride.
	Burgundy mixture	Solution of copper sulphate and sodium carbonate developed in 1885 for the prevention of mildew and other diseases on grape vines.
	Busbars	Copper bar or section used for carrying heavy currents. Busbars are generally rigid when compared to cables.
	Cake	A rectangular block of metal cast in a refinery and intended for subsequent rolling. Also called a slab.
	Calamine	Zinc ore that was originally used for the manufacture of brass by cementation in a crucible with copper granules. The name comes from La Calamine in Belgium. Similar to smithsonite.
	Cap copper	A 95/5 brass produced as strip, originally for the manufacture of percussion caps.
	Carobronze	German trade name for 8.5% tin phosphor bronze as drawn tube for bearings.
	Cathode copper	Pure copper, the product of electrolytic refining supplied for melting for the manufacture of products.
	Cartridge brass	70/30 brass with very good cold working properties, especially for deep drawing.
	CDA	Copper Development Association. This title is used by both the British and American organisations. Other countries have similar copper centres under other names.
	Chalcocite	A cuprous Sulphide ore also known as copper glance.
	Chalcopyrite	A copper sulphide ore.
	Chalkos	Early Greek term for brass and bronze.
	Chasing	The use of punches on a metal surface for decoration, not removing metal as when engraving.
	Chatter	Machining marks made by a lathe tool that vibrates more than it should.
	Chevreul salt	A cupro-cupric sulphate.
	Chinese art metal	Copper-lead-zinc tin alloy containing about 15% lead, 10% zinc and 1% tin.
	Chinese Bronze	High tin bronze containing about 22% tin.
	Chrysokalk	Leaded gilding metal 90.5% copper, 8% zinc, 1.5% lead.
	Chrysocolla	Copper silicate ore.
	Chrysorin	Loose term covering cold working brass with 72-66% copper and 28-34% zinc
	Ciré Perdue	Lost wax casting (Precision casting), a process that produces very fine detail.
	Clock brass	Brass containing about 35% zinc and 1% lead that can be rolled to sheet for the manufacture of plates and gears for clocks.
	Cold working	Deforming a metal at a temperature below that of recrystallisation so that the metal hardens.
	Continuous casting	Production method for castings where the molten metal is continuously poured into an open mould while the solidified metal is slowly withdrawn and coiled or cut to length by flying saw. May be a vertical, sidecasting or upcasting process.
	Common brass	Originally a 63/37 brass, standard cheap brass for cold working. It is now usually a 64/36 alloy to give improved corrosion resistance.
	Copper	A metal with a distinctive red colour used from the late stone age onwards. The Greeks and Romans both used the metal and its alloys, known as xaAer and aes. Since, according to Pliny, the Roman supply was chiefly drawn from Cyprus, it came to be termed aes cyprium, which was gradually shortened to cypriurn, and corrupted into cuprum, whence comes the English word copper, the French cuivre, and the German Kupfer. (Symbol - Cu.)
	Copperas (blue)	Copper sulphate crystals.
	Copper plate	Good quality flat copper used to make printing plates by selective etching or engraving. The term is also applied to the immaculate type of flowing handwriting typical of that used on copper.
	Copper plating	Thin layer of copper electroplated on to other metals to improve appearance, corrosion resistance or provide a good bonding substrate for nickel and chromium plating.
	Copper bottom	To sheath the bottom of ships with copper to prevent attack by the Toredo worm and prevent the attachment of biofouling including molluscs that slow the ship, first applied to British ships in 1761. Now used as a term of assurance of quality.
	C. B & R.	Copper Bronzed and Relieved (C.B & R.) A bright copper finish, usually on brass producrts, with dark or black shading.
	Copper glance	A cuprous Sulphide ore also known as chalcocite.
	Copper head	A venomous snake, common in the United States of America.
	Copper-nickel	Covers copper alloys with less than 50% of nickel.
	Copper nose	Slang term for inflamed nose, acne rosaaca, a bacterial infection frequently treatable by antibiotics.
	Copper plate	A polished plate of rolled copper on which a design is engraved for printing. Also describes plating of copper on to other metals.
	Copper wall	Term used in sugar making to describe a double row of copper pans served by a common fire.
	Corinthian brass,
	Corinthian bronze	Alloy produced at Corinth, much prized for ornaments, said to be of gold, silver, and copper.
	Covellite	A copper sulphide ore.
	Cramping	Jointing technique giving a ‘dovetail’ appearance, see text.
	Crotorite	Manganese Bronze and Brass Co Ltd., Ipswich, term for high strength copper alloys.
	Crystalisation	Metals solidify with a crystalline structure that may be subsequently be revealed at breaks or by etching a polished surface.
	Cuivre Poli	70/30 brass.
	Cullen plate	Plates for monumental brasses made in Cologne, Germany during the middles ages.
	Cuprite	Copper oxide ore.
	Cupronickel	Obsolete term for copper-nickel alloy.
	Cymbal metal	Brass, 78% Copper, 22% zinc that can be rolled to give a brass of good acoustic resonance.
	Dairy bronze	A nickel silver containing 20% nickel, 8% zinc, 4% tin and 4% lead used for some ornamental castings.
	Davis Metal	Chapman Valve Manufacturing Co. term for a complex 70/30 copper/nickel alloy.
	Dawson's Bronze	85% copper 15% tin bearing alloy.
	Deep drawing	Forming deep, hollow components from sheet or strip by using a punch to push metal into a die.
	Delta Bronze	Free machining brasses made by Delta Metal Co. Ltd., West Bromwich.
	Deoxidised copper	Copper that has had deoxidiser added to reduce oxygen. Phosphorus is commonly added but other elements such as boron or magnesium may be used.
	Dezincification	Selective corrosion of the beta phase of duplex brass that leaves a copper residue under a ‘meringue’ of zinc oxide.
	Dragons Blood	A resin compound used by etchers to prevent undercutting of designs on copper plate.
	Drawing	The process of pulling a metal through a die to produce wire. (Not to be confused with Deep Drawing).
	Ductility	Ease with which material can be formed, for example by drawing, bending or rolling.
	Duplex brass	Brass containing over 36% of zinc or with other additions usually has two phases present in the crystal structure. They are used for castings, extrusions and for hot stampings.
	Durana Metal	65% copper, 30% zinc, 1.5% aluminium brass.
	Dutch metal,
	Dutch brass	Early terms for 80/20 brass.
	Electro-plate	Term applied to process for coating copper with silver. Not to be confused with Sheffield Plate.
	Electum	In antiquarian times, a pale yellow alloy of gold containing about 15-45% of silver but also used in the mid 19^th century to cover a copper-26% nickel-23% zinc (high nickel-silver type) alloy. Electum is from the Greek word for amber.
	Embossing	Raising or beating out metal from the back in sheet meatl work.
	Emerald copper	Basic copper aceto-arsenate.
	Engravers’ brass	Good quality brass sheet containing about 63% copper, 36% zinc and 2% lead. This is a free-machining version of cold working common brass.
	Engraving copper	Excellent quality copper sheet with good surface finish suitable for engraving. For printing plates it may contain a little silver.
	EPNS	Mark for ElectroPlated Nickel Silver.

COPPER GLOSSARY

Terms used to help describe copper and brass items.

© Vin Callcut 2004-6