Spelter been used since about the 1860s to make statues, tablewares, and lamps that resemble bronze. Spelter is soft and breaks easily. To test for spelter, scratch the base of the piece. Bronze will appear as bright yellow while spelter will show a silvery scratch. The word "pewter" is thought to be derived from the word "spelter". Zinc ingots formed by smelting might also be termed spelter. Spelter Spelter, while sometimes used merely as a synonym for zinc, is often used to identify a zinc alloy. In this sense it might be an alloy of equal parts copper and zinc, i.e.
Brass bell of metal. The use of metal also avoids the risks of exposing wooden instruments to changes in temperature or humidity, which can cause sudden cracking. Even though the saxophones and sarrusaphones are classified as woodwind instruments, they are normally made of brass for similar reasons, and because their wide, conical bores and thin-walled bodies are more easily and efficiently made by forming sheet metal than by machining wood. The keywork of most modern woodwinds, including wooden-bodied instruments, is also usually made of an alloy such as Nickel Silver/German Silver. Such alloys are stiffer and more durable than the brass