Caution for buying Luger Parts on eBay...

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by alanint

...These are all a zinc based "pot metal" which will actually melt in a pot of boiling water.

Temp to melt Zamak is generally slightly under 400 degrees Celsius.

But alloys of zinc are formulated in a "melting pot". I've always taken the term "pot metal" as having slightly disparaging connotations, but I figured that this was centered on the possibility of throwing an imprecise variety of metals into the pot, resulting in unreliably formulated, structurally inferior castings. I'm doubtin' the connection to water.

I once had received a cast zinc alloy belt buckle shaped like a chainsaw for Xmas. I was at work when a housemate placed the buckle on the top front corner of the wood stove, 'cause it looked cool there. When I returned home, my belt buckle was a shiny puddle on the floor in front of the stove. A typical operating temp for this part of the stove can range up to 6-800 degrees F, which was sufficient to melt that alloy.

Didn't temperature of fusion have something to do with regulation of whether a gun was classified as a "Saturday night special"--a cheap, basically disposable firearm. I forget the reference, but if a gun's frame had a low enough temperature of fusion, it was not allowed.