Birdhunter,
I have had much experience in forging cast brass. Unfortunately, sometimes it works well and sometimes it is a disaster. I believe that this depends on the alloy and purity of the brass. If the brass is good stuff - heat the brass just to dull red in a dim lighted room and allow to cool, quench in water is OK. Then cold forge the part. Be careful in forging as the brass will work harden quickly and requires several subsequent cycles of heating, quenching, forging until you are happy with the part. Do not heat the part to bright cherry red, only dull red in a dim light. Stop forging sooner than you think, sometimes that one additional hammer blow will ruin the part, better to heat, quench more often.
On the other hand, last month I tried this with a sand cast trigger guard and quickly ended up with broken junk. Poor alloy brass. I know this answer gives no confidence since you do not know if the brass is a good alloy or not, but maybe the blind squirrel will find the acorn.
Jim
