Need advice on brass alloys for triggerguard, buttcaps ect.

[Rolf]

I've a made a few triggerguards and buttcaps for pistols using brass scraps from machineshops. Don't know what alloys, I've used, but they are alot harder than the Nice soft, yellow, brasscastings you get. Planing on starting on a bunch of butt caps  and guards for the Norwegian 1772 pistols. Can anyone recommed a brass alloy thats good for Cold working and solders well? Be thinking about 260 cartridge brass. It good for Cold working, but some say it does not solder well, due high zink content.  I need 1/8 and 3/16 thick sheet and 1/2 inch round Stock.

Best regards
Rolf

[davec2]

Rolf,

I would think 260 would be your best bet.  I have never had any problems soft soldering (low temperature with lead) or silver soldering / brazing (many braze alloy options up to 1650 degrees F) on any of the brass alloys I have used including 260.  I'm not sure what type of soldering you are thinking about, but my suggestion would be to try whatever process you are planning on some small pieces of 260.

[jerrywh]

Rolf. I have always had the best luck with the 260 alloy.

[Eric Kettenburg]

Alloy 260 is straight "cartridge brass," 70/30.  This is about as good as you can get nowadays and it looks right (color, when polished), it works right, and it's easily annealed repeatedly for forming.  Based upon the assays I have seen for brass of the 17th/18th centuries, about the only difference is that old brass typically has a few percentage points of lead.  Honestly, I doubt 2 or 3 or 4% lead really does anything that would be perceptible to the end user (either gunsmith or buyer).

[bob in the woods]

My friend has been passing along his .300 Win Mag brass to me. He doesn't reload, and I don't use that caliber, so I'm glad that I can repurpose it .  I have a forge, but haven't cast brass before, so am glad to see this post.   

[Eric Kettenburg]

I spent a lot of years running my own castings in an open charcoal forge and most of what I was using was just plain cartridge brass.  And I'd throw a few round balls in and call it a day.   

Initially, I can't tell you how much time I spent punching out spent primers, "just because."  Then someone told me, hey, they're brass too.



Well golly gee, I stopped punching out primers (SPENT of course!!!!) and the end results were absolutely no different.  Now I could kick myself in the a$$ for all the time I wasted.  Just an extra pass with the borax flux and skimmer, maybe.

[bob in the woods]

 Would a ceramic container with a ceramic lid be suitable for melting brass in my forge ?

[Clint]

The reason for adding lead to brass is to make it more machineable. That means easier to engrave. unfortunately any amount of lead in brass makes it very difficult (impossible) to forge, so if you are going to raise the butt caps steer away from leaded brass. Cartridge brass is cold drawn which itself is evidence of the forging/forming capabilities of that metal. If you are going to pour brass, it wants to be very close to boiling so you are going to lose some zinc, you will see heavy white smoke coming off the molten surface, don't breath it , zinc oxides are poison. Have a few NEW pennies ready to toss in before you pour that will restore the yellow color and take the red out.

[Dphariss]

I've a made a few triggerguards and buttcaps for pistols using brass scraps from machineshops. Don't know what alloys, I've used, but they are alot harder than the Nice soft, yellow, brasscastings you get. Planing on starting on a bunch of butt caps  and guards for the Norwegian 1772 pistols. Can anyone recommed a brass alloy thats good for Cold working and solders well? Be thinking about 260 cartridge brass. It good for Cold working, but some say it does not solder well, due high zink content.  I need 1/8 and 3/16 thick sheet and 1/2 inch round Stock.

Best regards
Rolf

Scraps may be bronze.
260 alloy, cartridge brass is best.

Dan