cleaning up sand cast brass

[smallpatch]

I just received some great Lehigh furniture from Allen Martin.... now the question.

What is the best procedure for shaping, thinning, and getting all the sand cast gunk off these nice castings??

All help will be much appreciated.

[Stophel]

File, file, file.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I use new rasps, then files, then cloth backed abrasives.  I polish with automotive Aluminum or Silicon Oxide paper to about 1200 grit.

[B Shipman]

These are Dru Hedgecock castings. I had some made recently for Jacob Kuntz furniture that Eric Von Aush. made up perfectly in wood. They are true sand castings and tend to come out thickesh. So like above, file, file. The great thig is they rarely have pits.  Outstanding castings.

[Lucky R A]

   A good holding device for triggerguards, and a block of wood cut to inside and outside curve of your butt plate allows you to securely hold the pieces while you work.   I drill my holes in the butt plate at the start of the clean up process, this allows you to fasten it to the wood block,and work on it without danger of distorting its shape.  At the top of my list are  good sharp files that are used for nothing but brass. I generally start with a half round Bastard file to knock off the grainy stuff and thin things down as needed.  I then proceed to a pointed half round 8" Swiss file in the coarsest cut.  This should get you down to detail filing  where you can use parallel sided, and half round smooth Swiss files.   A knife edge file to cut in moldings etc., and a good good full round (chain saw file) to get into the tight curves completes the list.   You are then ready to get down to final finishing with your preference of sand paper and whatnot.

[JCKelly]

see the thread by Pete G, "Scrapers for Brass"

[lew wetzel]

dane,i got my furniture from reaves and they cleaned up real nice...filing,emory cloth,steel wool,cleaned with brasso and they have a mirror finish...i think i spent 5-6hrs doing the buttplate and t.guard....i checked them castings out that a.martin is offering and they look like a whole lotta work compared to reaves....

[E.vonAschwege]

These are Dru Hedgecock castings. I had some made recently for Jacob Kuntz furniture that Eric Von Aush. made up perfectly in wood. They are true sand castings and tend to come out thickesh. So like above, file, file. The great thig is they rarely have pits.  Outstanding castings.

Bill, got the castings from you when I went home last week.  They're beautiful!  Thanks for all your help!

Hedgecock castings appear rough, but like Bill said, they file down really well.  The brass is nice and soft too, doesn't appear as soft as Reaves' castings though.  Once you get past the initial sand texture and seam, it'll look a million times better.

I start with an old Nicholson half-round bastard file that I retired from woodworking, then work with a set of files and finally some stones (though they clog rather easily in brass). 
-Eric

P.S.  I also use a cheap fileset from home depot with red handles... they're copies of Nicholson patterns, but I don't worry about them as much when working both metal and wood.  The halfround bastard really cuts quick, especially with broken teeth.  Downside... they're made in China 

[smallpatch]

Thanks for all the response guys.

Eric and Bill,

I going to have to pick up some new files.  The ones I've been using regularly, just don't seem to cut the brass very well.

Lew,

I used Reeves castings on my last one, but they are just so small, and if there are any nicks or holes, you're just out of luck.  Allen's are a little bigger, but I think with a little time and effort, they will be the size that they need to be AFTER clean up.

Anyway, off the buy some new files.

[tbailey]

Has anyone tried Dave Keck brass casting from knob mounting.

[Nate McKenzie]

Yes. Easy to clean up and bend. Some of my favorites.

[Bob F]

I plan on using Dave's stuff for my next build,  I stopped by his shop...really nice craftmanship on his hardware.

[Jerry V Lape]

Smallpatch, there are some folks in Lakeside who sell knife building supplies.  They carry a good line of Grobet files at a nice price which I find quite good.  www.Knifeandgun.com  is their website and phone for info is 928 537 8877.  Nice folks and local for us. 

[smallpatch]

Thanks Jerry,

I'll check them out.

[B.Habermehl]

Has anyone tried Dave Keck brass casting from knob mounting.

   
Dave Keck's castings are the nicest wax castings I have ever worked with.  But sand castings have their place in this hobby as you can do more with them as there is generally more metal to work with.  Wax castings are so close to finished dimensions that your hands can be a bit tied if the gun your replicating uses even slightly different  furniture.