King Bait Co. Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 Does anybody have an idea of the temp to melt brass at or if its a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akriverrat Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 About 940 degrees C. But be careful! The fumes are poisonous. Brass (85 Cu 15 Zn) 900-940C 1652-1724F dosent sound like its worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 Very tricky, as well as exceedingly hazardous for a variety of reasons. It's not like melting lead, where you just need to get it hot enough. There are a lot of things to manage with an alloy like common 70/30 (cartridge) brass-- too many things to get into here. It can be done, but it requires advanced foundry skills and specialized equipment-- the least of which is that you need iron molds. Molten brass would destroy an aluminum mold immediately........ and if you're not very careful, it'll destroy an iron mold too. The bottom line is, unfortunately it's not practical for the average hobbyist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernet Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 If you serach for "brass" over at this link: Metal, Plastic, and Ceramic Search Index you will find various types of brass and their different properties. The web site wont let me do a direct-to-brass link. I have looked into the brass thing in the search for a way to produce less environmetally evil lures. I belive it is the right way to go due to the low cost of the brass. Just make sure its lead free brass. So I say its worth it for bigger production. Have a look at backyardmeltcasting.com for how to set up a home foundry for under 20 bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Bait Co. Posted April 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 I think I'm going to go cash the brass in. Sounds a little to much for me. If anybody whants to trade or buy it let me know. I think its about 10lb give or take need to weight it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagacious Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 ...I have looked into the brass thing in the search for a way to produce less environmetally evil lures. I belive it is the right way to go due to the low cost of the brass. Just make sure its lead free brass. So I say its worth it for bigger production. Have a look at backyardmeltcasting.com for how to set up a home foundry for under 20 bucks. If you're serious, I'd encourage you to go for it. I'd be interested to hear how you'll go about it. If you follow the backyard aluminum/brass melting crowd, you'll see how many hurdles they have to face-- but it's worth it just for the learning experience. I have cast a variety of different brasses and bronzes. The difference between pouring lead, and working with molten brass is so great that it's tough to make direct comparisons. However you slice it, it ain't easy. Plain-old ordinary everyday brass is tricky stuff. Common 70/30 brass isn't something you can just melt and work with at your leisure. While molten, the zinc rapidly boils off, and thus the temp required to maintain a fluid melt is constantly rising. When you add more zinc to rebalance the alloy, a variable percentage of it boils off immediately anyway. So how much actually went into the melt? If you're not very careful, the zinc will actually catch on fire. You can almost shrug-off a drop of lead that gets splashed on your arm. Ha ha! No so with brass or anything with a similar melting point. Lead is hot, but molten brass will burn you like the devil. If your iron molds get too hot, the brass will permanently weld itself to them. Ruined. The cast-iron RCBS lead melting pot will melt and fall apart like wet cardboard if you try to melt brass in it. Etc, etc, etc. Aluminum can be substituted for the more volatile zinc in brass to make what's called aluminum bronze. It has somewhat more friendly handling characteristics, but you still have to be on top of your chemistry. It's still not as simple as dumping a bunch of metals together and turning up the fire. And even when you get it all melted just right, it'll want to pour like molasses. I had a high reject-rate on pours under an ounce. In my experience, pouring a small jig from brass is completely out of the question. If you want to work with an alternative to lead, take Hawnjig's good advice and go the tin/bismuth route. Good luck, and be safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
