Brass & Bronze Question

NorthStarXO

NorthStarXO

Joined
Nov 29, 2001
Messages
1,247
Looking for a source of brass and bronze for using in forge projects.

Can I use gun brass, melt it, make ingots or bars and then forge it?

And the bronze needs to be Beryllium-free - I have enough breathing problems with asthma. And the brass lead-free.

Have you used uncoated brazing rod for projects?

Thanks for the info in advance.
 
Using found products is not a great idea if the final result is critical or as you say you have asthma. Go to a local metal supplier under brass and Copper or a local foundry and purchase known material to minimize the risk.

Be aware that Bronze is an upper respiratory irritant and so is Brass but the bronze is much more so. Ground in a fine dust during finishing it should be avoided by even healthy lungs.
 
Cartridge brass is 70Cu, 30Zn .Other brasses have other amounts of Zinc - zinc fumes are toxic !!! Buy what you need [don't melt] there are lots of colors to choose from. Cartridge brass is the most ductile of the brasses. A good choice for bronze is silicon bronze or phosphor bronze. Some other bronzes cannot be soldered.
 
I've been using a respirator anytime I grind, even when I'm grinding wood handles and I change the filters VERY regularly. And I vacuum and clean everything when I'm done.

The brass and bronze will be small additions to the steel hawks, not full pieces. And as I'm writing this I'm thinking of some really nice full pieces. :D

I'll check around on Monday but since it was the weekend I thought I'd ask here.
 
if your doing fill in work on the head you could eigther put brass shim stock and pound it into a grove cut around the cutout in the head or simply use brass rod and brase it in and grind everything flush and heat treat the edge.

For bar stock it's to cheap to screw with making your own.
 
Alaskan Copper & Brass Company and Alaskan Copper Works
Suppliers of Corrosion Resistant Products Since 1913
P.O. Box 3546
Seattle, Washington 98124-3546
3223 Sixth Avenue South (98134-2105)
Phone (206) 623-5800 Fax (206) 382-7335
Toll Free (800) 552-7661
acbsea@alascop.com

good folks to deal with...............
 
Thanks - I'm local to them so I can just go up and pick up anything I need because I'm sure shipping would be killer on it if I had to get any real quantity.

With any luck I can get scrap from them cheap.
 
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