Polishing brass before the days of wet or dry sandpaper.

[bennypapa]

How'd they do it?
What tools did they use after filing?
Small stones like the ones used to sharpen gouges?

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

Stones would fill much too quickly with a soft metal like brass. They used course then fine files and and after that a burnisher was used to finish. If you look at original hardware you will often see fine scratch marks left by the files that could not be burnished down.

 

[necchi]

Well, sandpaper itself goes back along ways;

Stone used in building the Pyramids of Egypt were smoothed with a naturally "bonded" abrasive--sandstone! Around 2100 B.C. a creative Egyptian engineer mounted a circular wheel on a crude sort of lathe and ground bronze tools and ornaments, launching the art of cylindrical grinding. During the Middle Ages, armor and swords were ground and polished. The first recorded manufacture of coated abrasives goes back to the 13th century when the Chinese used natural gums to bind crushed seashells to parchment.

I can only imagine cause I haven't studied, but a soft cloth with a paste of pumice, sandstone, rough clay or rouge,, :idunno:
Mankind has been polishing soft metals long before there was guns, :wink:

 

[fitter]

You got the idea, but shaped small pieces of wood and leather were used. Burnishing as well.

 

[necchi]

Ya I thought of that after I posted, I do the same today,, shape something for those hard to reach little corners, git in there and start rubbin.
I'll bet that's was apprentice work, boring, monotonous, time consuming and a good lashing if you screwed it up, :shocked2:

 

[Black Hand]

Scrapers were also used and the metal was then burnished and polished....

 

[Bill Hall]

I've heard soldiers used brick dust on a rag soaked in neetsfoot oil, to buff up iron parts on military weapons. Could have been used for brass as well. Bill

 

[napolean]

I heard somewhere that dried shark skin was used as a sanding/polishing media.
Jon D

 

[bennypapa]

Are there written references for these methods?
Sounds like something I would enjoy reading.

Now that I have read everyones posts I am reminded of the use of soft metal "laps" and fine abrasive powders to smooth metals. Machinists used bronze laps, barrel makers use custom poured lead laps...
Soft metals were recommended in the books I read because the grit particles would embed into the surface of the lap and do the abrading work.

I wonder if the same technique was employed? A purpose made lap of soft iron or brass could be made to shape and a paste of abrasive dust could then be used. The shape of the lap could be used to maintain edges on the work and not round things off too much.

Any thoughts?

 

[shootrj2003]

shark skin was used as sheet abrasives are used today and was it me ,I would seek out finer and coarser grades of sand as well as sediments of softer and harder materials and rub with leather or clothe for round or soft effect or use a board for a flat finish effect.

 

[CrackStock]

Are there written references for these methods?

I have heard of 3 most often mentioned.

Polishing and protecting with brick dust and sweet oil is one method often mentioned during the Rev War period.

Burnishing with a ramrod is another method mentioned for barrels and stocks. Some British officers complained because this practice was wearing barrels thin.

Scrapers are commonly mentioned as being in the estates of gunmakers/gunstockers.

CS