Melting Brass

[rcslotcar]

I could use a couple of boxes of 22lr cases for swaging. Let me know if you decide to sell .22lr brass.

[ostrick]

Any opinions on contaminating your forge smelting brass in it?

[bangerjim]

Melting and casting brass it TOTALLY different and much harder than our favorite Pb! I have done it in the past. You need a high temp gas-fired kiln style furnace that can get to and maintain proper pouring temps. Graphite or other hi-temp crucibles are used in the furnace. You can even use broken glass as a flux...anything that melts at that high temp that will keep O2 away from the molten brass....or you burn off the Zn/Cu and other critical elements in the melt.

Brass founding is not for the weak of heart~! The molds are generally the casting sand type and use the cope and drag method. Do a LOT of research on line before diving in and spending a ton of money on equipment. There are those that use charcoal and a vacuum cleaner as a blower, but those are kinda mickey-mouse set-ups for toying around. The equipment I used cost in the thousands of dollars and used enough nat gas in one session to heat a large 2 story home! But it REALLY did the job!!!!!!!!

I got my scrap brass from old gas regulators, tubing and plumbing fittings, and water plumbing stuff my dad saved for me.

Good luck!

banger