The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

When I say distortion, I mean distortion!!

Barry

Yes, that's Mazak in action ! I have one or two similar. Very artistic................

And I bet it sounds really sweet too!

In the 1980s we were at Newark in a very cold winter , it was freezing , Richard Taylor visited our stall and mentioned he had just bought an HMV no 5 soundbox very cheaply , he took it out of his pocket to show us , as he was holding it in his hand it started to break up ! quite violently with bits pinging off , just the heat from his hand and a very cold soundbox tore the Mazak apart ! Lovely stuff !

Incidentally some Mazac can be repaired if not too distorted , using superglue , this seems to be absorbed by the Mazac , it even warms up some times , the piece can then be filed / shaped back to almost original dimensions and it seems stable after this is done

No way back for yours though is there ?

Incidentally some Mazac can be repaired if not too distorted , using superglue

That's an interesting tip, Mike, thanks!

I have a mazak soundbox which has a few hairline cracks in it currently around the very edge. Is it worth dropping a little superglue into the cracks and wiping the excess away. It is very dull and although nickel plated, I doubt it will ever polish up successfully so the odd dried smear of glue shouldn't detract from it. I don't want to heat it though or risk it getting worse!

Steve wrote:

Incidentally some Mazac can be repaired if not too distorted , using superglue

That's an interesting tip, Mike, thanks!

I have a mazak soundbox which has a few hairline cracks in it currently around the very edge. Is it worth dropping a little superglue into the cracks and wiping the excess away. It is very dull and although nickel plated, I doubt it will ever polish up successfully so the odd dried smear of glue shouldn't detract from it. I don't want to heat it though or risk it getting worse!

Yes it seems to stabilse the Mazac really well !

I was unfamiliar with the tradename "Mazak" so I did a bit of reading. It is also called "Zamak". I found a couple excerpts to be interesting (and disturbing):

"Zamak" (Redirected from Mazak (alloy))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazak_%28alloy%29
Excerpt: While zinc alloys are popularly referred to as pot metal or white metal, zamak is held to higher industrial standards.

Oh, really?

"Zinc Pest"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest
Excerpt: Zinc pest, (from German Zinkpest), is a destructive, intercrystalline corrosion process of zinc alloys containing lead impurities.[1] It was first discovered to be a problem in 1923.[1]

Zinc pest affects primarily die-cast zinc articles that were manufactured during the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. In Germany, articles made from Zamak during World War II and several years thereafter may be affected.[2] Purer alloys were not available to the manufacturers as they were used for the war effort, or were just not on the market after the war. While impurities of the alloy seem to be the cause of the problem, environmental conditions such as high humidity (greater than 65%) may accelerate the process.[3] Also, significant temperature changes can be damaging.

"significant temperature changes can be damaging"
No kidding?

Back in the 1950s, Zamak castings were used extensively in model railroading over here. Quality was indeed an issue: some of this stuff turned to powder, other examples are still sound. I must say I've never seen a case like the one pictured, though!

Henry wrote:Back in the 1950s, Zamak castings were used extensively in model railroading over here. Quality was indeed an issue: some of this stuff turned to powder, other examples are still sound. I must say I've never seen a case like the one pictured, though!

Dinky toys are prime examples of rubbish Mazac , but it is a real mystery why some survive with no problems and others are perfect , batch control of the metals must have been part of the problem as I assume Mazac was a trade name

Well, at least the picture at the top of this thread makes me feel better about the state of some of the @#$%^& potmetal parts I have.



Clay