Quote Originally Posted by harvey_s View Post
Pot metal is the collective name for low-melting point alloys of zinc, tin and lead (melted in a pot)...nowt to do with pots & pans - they would make terrible pots and pans as they would just melt...
Later it came into general use to describe low quality die-cast zinc alloys as well - also called monkey metal for obvious reasons.

Zamak & Mazak are zinc/aluminium alloys some of which are appalling and some are very useful...years ago, they were unrepairable and poorly designed and thus also attracted the 'pot or monkey metal' moniker.
Nowadays they tend to better designed and alloyed with other metals to give better service although there is still some crap out there.
Nearly all the new CO2 pistols on the market today are made from Zamak 2,3,5, etc. All the Umarex range, and the new revolvers. Now some of the PCP rifles I am repairing have a few cast bits on them. Nothing wrong with it. I know the old mix they used like on my Schimels had a problem on some pistols.I like it because the old vintage pistols such as Smith &Wesson and Crosman have not rusted, like some of the Webleys I work on. Think I was the first to name Zamak on the BBS, was always called "pot metal" or "monkey metal" before on here. Anyway fed up with the arguments on this thread, will not be reading it anymore because nobody answers straight forward questions.

bye, bye Baz