How are/were brass barrel bands made? MOVED

[Dartwick]

MOVED and reposted to builder forum.

Ive been intrigued by this colonial restock of a captured 1756 carbine. Apparently there are multiple similar examples.

https://www.americanrevolutioninsti...etail/captured-british-light-dragoon-carbine/
How would have the original bands been made? How would you go about making something similar? Do you think they are actually made of brass?

Im curious. Thanks.

I

 

[rich pierce]

Sand cast then filed and polished, is my best guess.

 

[Mle1822]

That depends on the thickness of the band. Both casted and sheet brass parts were done for swords scabards etc. In huge numbers. Bands for firearms were just a small sideproduct for them.

 

[windini]

Though this equipment is "modern," the method was the same way back when.

A friend of mine works part time in his family's foundry. Among other things in aluminum, bronze & brass, they make trigger guards and butt plates for a distributor / wholesaler. I imagine the barrel bands and other parts are supplied by similar cottage industries.

You can see many patterns on the shelves in the background.

It's fascinating to watch! We did something similar when I was in shop class in the 7th grade. I made a miniature Zulu-esque shield/mask wall hanger decoration out of aluminum. We were encourage to scrounge our own metal - "get dad's beer cans!" was the number one recommended source.

The lure of it hasn't diminished a bit in 50 years. I hope to do some more one of these days.