Question on bronze

[dan610324]

the chinese can make ok stuff also , not good yet but ok .
but most of it is pure scrap
give them 5-10 years and they will be world leading at almost everything
but still they will have companies who want to make the cheapest possible stuff

I never have any problem using HSS on bronze

[GGaskill]

But you are probably using that FAGERSTA WKE45.   

[dan610324]

yeah thats what I have , got most of it for free so I cant see any reason to buy something else 

[RocklockI]

One thing about bronze is that when you drill it you should alter the point on the bit .

Also snug down whatever lock you have on the machine doing the drilling .

This is because brass and bronze have a 'want' to grab the bit and screw it into the work instead of cutting /drilling . It is something I'd never experienced B4 but is defiantly something to keep in mind !

The bit s/b nearly flat to ,no relief on the tip so that the drill barely drills at all  . Just go cautiously especially on the smaller dia's. like the touch hole and you'll OK

Gary

[dan610324]

negative cut angle , I just use a sharpening stone to make it

[One Bullet Dan]

Thanks for all the info and opinions. From what I gathered, there doesn`t seem to be a big difference between bearing bronze and aluminum bronze when it comes to small caliber barrels.
I guess I`ll check with my brother, who has a masters from the U of M in engineering, which includes a couple of metallurgy courses, and see if he can come up with the deciding vote. There is only a couple of bucks, literally, between 954 and 932, so it`s strength that will decide.

I wish I`d acted on the itch thirty years or so ago. There were several mom and pop foundries making small parts for GM in my area, and casting a barrel would have been a hoot for them and me.