sintered metal-Test Strips for Carbon-Fired Metal Clays

Ever since I´ve sintered metalbeen using carbon-fired clays， I have become a big advocate of test strips。 A lot of work can be wasted without the information that they provide。

Test strips give clues to how completely sintered your piece is， and how good your firing schedule is。 There are so many variables to working in carbon-fired metal clay， it is often difficult to arrive at a proper firing schedule just by following the manufacturer´s suggestions。 Many times you need to customize your own firing plan。

Another use for test strips is as a "witness strip" (a term coined by Mardel Rein， owner of Cool Tools and expert on firing metal clays and troubleshooting)。 A witness strip is fired alongside your piece。 Upon removing your work after firing， you can perform tests on the strip， which will give an indication as to what is going on inside the piece you fired it with。 If it is under-fired you will be able to re-fire the piece。 This isn´t a substitute for testing to arrive at a firing schedule。 This is a technique to do after the firing schedule is already determined， anytime you would like to be informed about a particular piece or group of pieces you are firing。 Gordon Uyehara describes this use for test strips in his excellent book， Metal Clay Fusion。

So， how do we "read" a test strip?

For this article， I talked with Bill Struve， inventor of BRONZClay and COPPRClay， and owner of Metal Adventures， manufacturer of those brands。 Bill provided me with a wealth of information and also directed to me Mardel Rein´s very informative Learning Center page about firing bronze metal clay。

There are many tests you can perform on a metal clay strip。 The first one is done after removing the strip from the carbon。 Drop it onto a steel bench block。 It should make a particular type of ringing sound， very metallic。 If it has a dull sound or a "clunk"， something is wrong。

The next test is topowder metal bend the strip。 This test is designed to help determine if the piece is sintered enough to be malleable。 You bend the strip into a tight "u" shape， approximately。2 inches (5 mm) inside the "u"。 During this test， the outside surface of the strip is stretched， while the inside is compressed。 The strip should not crack， tear or break。 Thicker pieces will crack or break more easily than thin， so that is why test strips are done at a thickness of 4 or 5 cards-sort of a happy medium thickness。

The last test is to mix a tiny bit of detergent into a small amount of water， then place a drop of thispowder metal water on the strip。 The water should not be absorbed*， but sit on top of the strip。 This is because with the progression of sintering， the piece becomes less porous。 The water test indicates a "closed" porosity。

*This test will indicate a relatively full sintering。 It is possible for the strip to pass the bend test but not this test。 Not passing this test does not always indicate a problem with your piece。 But if you are looking for full sintering， this is a good test。

Another test that can be performed on a strip is to hammer it really hard。 The stripsintered metal should not crack or break。

sintered metal-Metal & Steel Bollard Post

Companies usuallsintered metaly carry five main categories of metal and pipe bollards in both used and new condition。 Many of these are easy to install yourself， while others require professional installation that most companies will implement on your behalf upon request。

Metal bollards are extremely rugged and will withstand impacts from a variety of material handling devices such as pallet racks， forklifts， and scissor lifts。 They can be used to protect any sensitive storage area， storage materials and racks， and restricted access points including parking and loading docks。

Steel Pipe Safety Bollards - 1 3/4" O。D。Steel Pipe Safety Bollards - 1 3/4" O。D。 Bollards can be used both indoors and outdoors to protect work areas， racking and personnelsintered metal。 Powder coated safety yellow finish。 Steel Safety Bollards

These pipe-shaped bollards can be used both indoors and outdoors to protect work areas， rackingpowder metal and personnel。 Manufactured with welded steel construction， each unit is powder coated with safety yellow finish。 Molded rubber caps are removable on 4" and 5" diameter units to allow for concrete infill。 Steel caps are welded on the 1" diameter units。

Each base plate measures 8" x 8"， on the 4。5 and 5。5 units (5" x 5" on the 1" units)， and includes four pre-drilled mounting holes。 Companies can supply mounting kits and replacement caps when needed。

Chrome-Plated Steel Bollard Chrome-Plated Steel Bollard Post & Barriers。 Improve the image of your facility while protecting people and equipment with this heavy-duty Chrome Bollard。 Unit is made of Steel Chrome Bollard

Chrome is a highly attractive metal on anything， including a bollard。 Chrome-plated bollards will improve the image of your facility and at the same time protect people and equipmentpowder metal。 Every unit is made of steel and finished with attractive bright chrome plating for a clean fresh look。 A black plastic top cap is removable to fill the pipe with concrete for greater strength and stability。

Spring Loaded Steel Bollards

These metal bollards are designed to serve as a visual and audible warning to personnel。 They feature a unique spring-loaded design will bend and not break like rigid bollards。 This works to prevent damage to the bollard and to any equipment that may hit it。

Spring-loaded metal bollards can also be ordered with optional light/siren。 The light/siren unit includes sensitive switches that will activate a strobe light and warning siren when contacted。 The unit is highly energy efficient and operates with two 9V batteries (not included)。 Installation is simplethe light/siren slides directly into the top of the pipe。

How To Choose An Appropriate Drill Bit Set

A power drill is what you will need for your small work around the house. These power drills can help bore the drill a hole into almost any material within the home say wood or glass or even special stained glass. What you need is the perfect drill bit set for your needs.
A drill bit set containing steel, spiral bits is not very expensive and is almost enough for drilling needs at home. However, they cannot drill into concrete or metal as they require special drill bits. These drill bit sets have drill bits ranging from size eight millimeters to thirty two millimeters sintered metal . Now if you need to have some concrete or masonry work done then you need the tungsten carbide drill sets as they have the required strength to drill holes through concrete. Mind you, they may be expensive than the regular steel bits.
Another advantage of a power drill is that they can work as screw drivers if you buy special hardened steel bits which have round shank on the top and the bit head is like a regular screwdriver. If you need to have the drill bits for use with nuts and fasteners then you will have to buy a drill bit set which has square base and round shaft. That square base fits into the fasteners and the round hole into the power drill.
For doing drilling into the glass or stained glass then you need to have drill bit set which contains diamond drill bits powder metal . These drill bits have diamond either bonded or sintered onto the drill tip which helps drill holes easily into glass. There are special diamond drill bits which can also drill holes into the porcelain tiles.
All said, the basic set of drill bits that you should have is the steel spiral drill bits for most of the home do it yourself kind of needs. For different requirements there are different types of drills and there is nothing which fits all.
Most of the manufactures of the drills usually have a set of instructions packaged along with the drill sets. That set of instructions is usually enough for the new person to accomplish the work sintered metal . However if you feel that they are not enough then make sure to get those from the internet. Even after reading those if you think you cannot do it yourself then you should spend some money and get an expert to do the task.