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Gongs-The Making
By admin | July 19, 2008
Most gongs vary in terms of diameter and they are made of bronze containing a maximum of 22 tin parts to 78 of copper. In many cases though, the portion copper is considerably more than the tin part. But such alloy, when cast and allowed to cool slowly, is excessively brittle. If suddenly cooled from heat, the alloy becomes so soft that it can be hammered and worked on the lathe or shaper machine, and afterwards may be hardened by re-heating and cooling it slowly (quite different from steel). Chinese availed themselves of this knowledge to prepare the thin sheets of which gongs are made of. These properties of the alloy long remained a secret but is said to have been first discovered in Europe by Jean Pierre Joseph d’Arcet at the beginning of the 19th century.
Topics: Arts |