Anyone casting Brass

[MR.GADGET]

Anyone casting Brass?
I want some Brass Balls................
Pull you mind out of the gutter...

I have a butt load of Brass from my other hobby, belt fed guns....
So I got to thinking, it would be cool to have some brass balls cast out of all the scrap.
Look neat on display and be something you just do not see everyday.
Thinking about 4.5" for my 12 pound and 1.75 for the GB gun.

What you think?

[GGaskill]

You should give Fox Industries a call.  They might have some.  Especially if you are a little flexible on size.

[RocklockI]

I'd turn in the brass for recyle and buy fox balls with the differance . JMHO

Gary

[Zulu]

At what temperature does brass melt?
Zulu

[Cat Whisperer]

At what temperature does brass melt?
Zulu

Melting temp or casting temp?  Are not aluminum and brass cast between 2 and 3,000 degrees F?  Like 2600 and 2800 for brass and a bit lower for aluminum?

[rampa room artillery]

john  i have "brass balls" big enough to try it,  bring me a bucket of brass and i will give a go on building a furnas to cast brass,  its not the heat but keeping the heat in the pot that makes it hot enough to melt brass. hey i might no be able to do it but i will give it a try. if i can get the brass hot enough to melt then we will have to talk about a mold.

rick bryan
 

[RocklockI]

Copper melts at @ 2100 it s/b @2200 to pour . At @2100 the zinc would be added to make brass.

Those are the kind of temps needed . You'll need a crucible and tools to handle it .

Good luck with it , nothing quite like looking into the crucible and watch the hues of purples ,salmons to pink .

Gary

[Zulu]

2200 degrees!
I guess I won't be doing that on my crawfish burner.
Zulu

[Cat Whisperer]

2200 degrees!
I guess I won't be doing that on my crawfish burner.
Zulu

Not intentionally.   

[Max Caliber]

Here is what it takes to melt bronze or brass or most anything you want melted. This is a coke fired furnace capable of melting even itself, fire brick lining and all. What you are looking at in the crucible is a bronze Coehorn in liquid form. The furnace cooled a bit after I opened the lid but before I could get the camera.

[rampa room artillery]

if they were able to cast cannon barrels in the 17th and 18th century then why cant we do it now,  i am thinking about going old fashion with wood burning, i know hard to do but all good things are. 

[Zulu]

Here is what it takes to melt bronze or brass or most anything you want melted. This is a coke fired furnace capable of melting even itself, fire brick lining and all. What you are looking at in the crucible is a bronze Coehorn in liquid form. The furnace cooled a bit after I opened the lid but before I could get the camera.

Max,
What is the crucible made of?
That's a neat picture.
Zulu

[Cat Whisperer]

We did aluminum (at ISU) with a natural gas fired kiln at IIFC 22 or 2300.
I had, at one time, a kiln that was for aluminum that also used natural gas.

[Max Caliber]

Zulu,

That's a factory made clay-graphite crucible.

Max

[GGaskill]

The melting point of aluminum is about 1221°F.  Probably should pour at 1300°F or so to be able to fill the cavity.

[RocklockI]

Here is my crucible at ...just below temp .


This is my junkyard find and after ..rerefractoring .....



If you are going to do a wood fired melt , I would think you will build a "Copulla" or some word like that  , to where you have a bellows wood/coal fired burn for a long time  then knock out a "bung hole " and the metal pours out into your mold ?

I hope you can do it , believe me sometimes I dont think I'll ever reach melting temps . Then you learn to adjust your burner a tweek or so then ....it melts . Life is good agian !

From there on all I can say is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK handleing the stuff cause it is hot beyond belief ...... every time you see it  .

It is an awsome thing to see .

Gary