Some of you folks have ordered Brass furniture and found that it was warped or bent. A few of you, when you tried to straighten it found to your dismay that it broke.
Speaking in general (which means there are always exceptions) if your part is a Sand Casting (very rough finish), it is Brass.
If it is an Investment Casting (smooth surface with a lot of cast detail on it), it is Bronze.
Brass is a mixture of Copper and Zink.
Brass is usually fairly ductile, that is, it can be bent without breaking. Brass tends to "work harden". This simply put means if it is bent repeatedly or hammered it will harden and if it does, it is more likely to break with more bending.
Bronze is a mixture of Copper and Tin. It is usually much harder than Brass so it is more likely to break when bent, even a little.
Like Brass, Bronze work hardens so repeated bendings or hammering makes it even harder and more likely to break.
Most peoples problems come when they are working with investment cast Bronze.
The answer is annealing. A fancy word for softening the material.
While annealing a hardenable Steel requires heating it to a bright red and Slowly cooling it, Brass and Bronze are exactly the REVERSE of this. No, you dont chill it but instead of slowly cooling it you must quench it.
Stated in a easy to follow way:
With Brass or Bronze, have a bowl or pan of cold water near by and heat the Brass/Bronze until it is a nice red hot color all over. This may take several Propane torches or their equivalent.
When it is a nice uniform red color instantly plunge it into the cold water. This keeps it in a ductile condition. It also distorts the part even worse than it was when you started, but at least now you can bend/pound it without breaking it.
After doing this, it will be easily bent or hammered as you wish but remember, multiple bendings or hammerings will work harden it again so don't over do it, or go thru the annealing operation again if it shows increased resistance to your efforts.
Speaking in general (which means there are always exceptions) if your part is a Sand Casting (very rough finish), it is Brass.
If it is an Investment Casting (smooth surface with a lot of cast detail on it), it is Bronze.
Brass is a mixture of Copper and Zink.
Brass is usually fairly ductile, that is, it can be bent without breaking. Brass tends to "work harden". This simply put means if it is bent repeatedly or hammered it will harden and if it does, it is more likely to break with more bending.
Bronze is a mixture of Copper and Tin. It is usually much harder than Brass so it is more likely to break when bent, even a little.
Like Brass, Bronze work hardens so repeated bendings or hammering makes it even harder and more likely to break.
Most peoples problems come when they are working with investment cast Bronze.
The answer is annealing. A fancy word for softening the material.
While annealing a hardenable Steel requires heating it to a bright red and Slowly cooling it, Brass and Bronze are exactly the REVERSE of this. No, you dont chill it but instead of slowly cooling it you must quench it.
Stated in a easy to follow way:
With Brass or Bronze, have a bowl or pan of cold water near by and heat the Brass/Bronze until it is a nice red hot color all over. This may take several Propane torches or their equivalent.
When it is a nice uniform red color instantly plunge it into the cold water. This keeps it in a ductile condition. It also distorts the part even worse than it was when you started, but at least now you can bend/pound it without breaking it.
After doing this, it will be easily bent or hammered as you wish but remember, multiple bendings or hammerings will work harden it again so don't over do it, or go thru the annealing operation again if it shows increased resistance to your efforts.
