Casting brass?

[Kevin]

Does anyone cast brass? I see the melting point is about 1600 F. About a thousand degrees hotter than lead. Then I see the average temperature of a campfire is around 1500. So I start to think....it would be kind of neat to have a big brass ingot or something similar.

Has anyone here done this? Not to form anything specific, just a brass bar more or less.

 

[NikA]

I've done some casting of copper-base alloys in a foundry at a university. You'd do better to start with aluminum- not as cool, but it melts at a much lower temperature and you are much less likely to get hurt. Most metals melt at high enough temperatures that they are putting off a significant amount of light, and brass is no exception. Aluminum, like lead and tin, melts at a low enough temperature that this is not a factor. Molten metal has serious potential to hurt you, wear plenty of protective equipment.

If you're looking to do this as an inexpensive hobby, look up "green sand casting". It's essentially using sand and clay as your mold. It's where most people start out when learning to cast melt at high temperatures.

 

[pruger45]

I have, but I can't use it for anything! I may plant some pieces in the woods for when my grandson visits though. There's gold in them there woods!

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for the tips. I will look into the sand and clay casting.

I didn't think about getting hurt. But now that you mention it, the possibility is real, splashing hot metal or spilling some on my feet. I can see what you mean.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Try working with silver first. Maybe a couple of small ingots.

If you get good at casting brass you could make brass gripframes. I know there is a market there. :D

 

[K. Funk]

Most copper alloys melted on a small scale are melted in a graphite crucible in a gas fired air blast furnace. While they may melt at or around 1600F, most are cast around 1800-1900F, depending on the actual alloy. The biggest challenge is de-gassing to keep porosity at bay. Larger scale industrial copper based alloys are usually melted in an electric induction furnace. You have to be careful when messing around with this stuff, lots of mayhem can ensue. I have worked in foundries for about 20 years and have seen some crazy stuff.

krf