more details on "Escape from Alcatraz" improvised welding?

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SkinnyJoe

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If I remember correctly Clint Eastwood scraped the coating off a dime or something. What's the metal in question?

Thanks.

Also, unrelated to this, some of us (myself included) have stated that rubbing alcohol does not result in CO emissions when burned. According to several MSDS, it does. I have no idea how much (or when compared to diesel, gasoline, methane and whatnot). Same for methanol. Sorry about the misinformation.
 
Yes, during that time period it would have been a silver dime. Assuming the federal government would not be issuing (sterling) silver spoons, true silverware, it's highly doubtful this would work and I doubt it would work even if the shank of the spoon were silver...it's apparently a dramatized version of silver-soldering-welding and nothing more. I don't think you can gang matches together like that to melt silver...I just don't see that happening and that's basically what's being portrayed.

It's cool to see that other people were interested in it as well.
 
If my highschool physics teacher wasn't lying, you could theoretically get it to weld if the metal is right. The head of one match, when struck, at the exact moment the entire head is engulfed it is burning at something like 400 degrees, so if you think about it, with enough matches he could weld a soft metal, though I'm pretty sure the "bulls" would smell the phosphorous and wood burnin' a mile away! Teacher coulda been bullshittin' us though.
 
The melting point of silver is around 900 degrees F. What would be the point in welding a hard piece of metal from a nail clipper to a soft pot metal shank from a spoon to dig with, to make it sturdier? That's sort of like having a carbide tipped hot dog for drilling. :)
 
I always wondered about that (the dime welding, not the carbide hotdog). I'm guessing a tool like that was found in real life somewhere along the escape route, and the writers of the movie made up a scene on how it might have been done. There was a shop area in the prison they had access to, but getting it out would be tough...
 
Sulfur in a match head has an ignition point of 446 degrees Fahrenheit
A match flame is from 1112 degrees to 1472 degrees Fahrenheit
Pure silver melting point is 1761 degrees F.
sterling silver melting point is 1640 degrees F.
coin silver melting point is 1615 degrees F.
Silver solder is a alloy of silver lead and tin. that has different melting points for different applications
Lead melting point is 621 degrees F.
tin melts at 450 degrees F.
The lowest melting point silver solder I have found available is 430 degrees F.
 
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