Muntz metal

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Bow of the Cutty Sark

Muntz Metal is a form of alpha-beta brass with about 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron. It is named after George Fredrick Muntz, a metal-roller of Birmingham, England. Muntz commercialised the alloy following his patent of 1832, although one William Collins had patented a 56:44 alloy in 1800.

Its original use was as a replacement for the copper lining placed on the bottom of boats as it maintained the anti-fouling abilities of the pure form. As it cost around two thirds of the price of pure copper and had identical properties for this application, it became the material of choice and Muntz made his fortune. Later it was used to sheathe the piles of piers in tropical seas, as a protection against teredo shipworms, and in locomotive tubes. Muntz Metal is still the term this form of brass is known by. It is a form of brass that must be worked hot and is used for machine parts that must be corrosion resistant.

A notable use of Muntz Metal was in the hull of the Cutty Sark.

[edit] Company history

Muntz started production in Water Street, Birmingham, but moved to Swansea in 1837. In 1842 he bought the French Walls Works in Smethwick, formerly the site of James Watt Jr's ironworks. The 4.5 acre site soon proved inadequate, and in 1850 a further 6.5 acres were bought, on the other side of the Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Stour Valley Railway. Muntz died in 1857, to be succeeded by his eldest son, also called George Fredrick, who sold it in 1864 to a joint stock company, Muntz's Metal Co. Ltd. In 1921 the company was bought by Elliott's Metal Company, which became part of ICI's Imperial Metals division (now IMI plc) in 1928.