Why brass over copper?

[trackpin]

Why does brass and to a lesser extent, iron, German silver, seem to be used exclusively for the furniture on a muzzle loader? Why do I only seldom, if at all, see copper being used for that purpose? Was or is it too soft? Was it more expensive than an alloy?

 

[64Springer]

Pure copper is really soft.

Toss in some hard as a rock zinc and you get brass.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

You can answer your own question. Pick up a piece of copper wire and bend it. Now pick up a piece of brass the same thickness and try to bend it.

 

[user 31257]

I’ve seen the term “German silver” many times but never knew what it was. I recently have been fooling with sterling silver so I looked it up and was surprised to learn that there isn’t any silver in German silver.

 

[64Springer]

I’ve seen the term “German silver” many times but never knew what it was. I recently have been fooling with sterling silver so I looked it up and was surprised to learn that there’s isn’t any silver in German silver.

Irreführende Werbung.

 

[Old Grunt]

I’ve seen the term “German silver” many times but never knew what it was. I recently have been fooling with sterling silver so I looked it up and was surprised to learn that there’s isn’t any silver in German silver.

What is German Silver ? nickel ? or ?

 

[trackpin]

What is German Silver ? nickel ? or ?

Alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. "A naturally occurring ore composition in China was smelted into the alloy known as paktong or báitóng (白銅) ("white copper" or cupronickel). The name "German Silver" refers to the artificial recreation of the natural ore composition by German metallurgists.[6][7][8] All modern, commercially important, nickel silvers (such as those standardized under ASTM B122) contain significant amounts of zinc and are sometimes considered a subset of brass.[9]"

 

[user 31257]

What is German Silver ? nickel ? or ?

Pretty much any of the common brass parts can be German silver instead, but it seems to most commonly be used for inlays and front sights.

 

[Rebel bull]

if you want a unique set of furniture and you like the reddish color go with bronze not as hard as steel but harder then brass or german silver
as a aside in my opinion most of the commercial german silver contains to much Nickle i prefer the look of Nickle silver key blanks has the look of tarnished sterling/coin silver

 

[Jay Templin]

if you want a unique set of furniture and you like the reddish color go with bronze not as hard as steel but harder then brass or german silver

I 100% agree! Bronze is a far handsomer and more durable alloy than brass. Good luck finding a set cast in it, but it’s not hard to work with, so maybe you can just make your own. When casting, you’ll get some shrinkage, so build up your models with a few layers of wax before making your mould.
Jay

 

[tenngun]

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an antique rifle in German silver. True silver was common.
I’ve never worked with silver, I don’t know how it compares to brass or copper for hardness

 

[beardedhorse]

True coin and sterling silver much harder than lead and melts at much higher temperature. Cast .530 round ball for werewolf flintlock pistol. Wound up investing wax cast in mold and using a jeweler's centrifugal caster and crucible to make them. Casting port and tree and spouts took up a lot of silver which could later be re cast. Bronze cannons over brass?

 

[new2bp]

Bronze you can also do lost wax casting, my grandpa did a lot of artwork this way, but anything that requires a precise fit will need to be oversize and then hand fitted

 

[necchi]

Why do I only seldom, if at all, see copper being used for that purpose?

Oxidation. Pure copper rusts quickly when exposed to the environment, even faster when exposed to the harsh chemicals of powder residue. Even human chemistry is caustic to copper,, there's old jokes about gold rings turning your finger blue,,
They where/are all commonly found raw elements, Copper, Tin, Zinc, Nickle, (there's no silver in German silver)
The bronze age was when they figure out how to mix copper and tin to make it harder, Brass is when the found out adding zinc made it harder and didn't turn blue as fast, adding nickle to that made it a lighter color.
It's all about the "metallurgy" that our ancestors learned millennia ago. It's nothing new, just part of human history. Like 10,000yrs of history

 

[Herb]

This is a .40 small rifle I built for Eagle Woman, Carole Jackson. Copper and sterling silver. She killed a mule deer buck with it.

 

[hanshi]

I don't really know, just that brass is more durable.

 

[William O.]

Irreführende Werbung.

Caveat Emptor

 

[oldschoolhunter55]

View attachment 254905
This is a .40 small rifle I built for Eagle Woman, Carole Jackson. Copper and sterling silver. She killed a mule deer buck with it.

Wow.that is a mighty fine lookin rifle