Note: Looks like the two vital things are to heat the mold as hot as possible and do a fast pour of the skimmed brass. Letting it air cool is probably a good thing as well. Cheers Rob
Hi Alan. Yes, my supply is not huge, and I previously took it to the recycle centre as it was unusable. Now I will have to keep it. I was pleased with the result. Cheers Rob
Hi Rob, firstly thank you very much for the 'shout out', it is most appreciated. I have had a number of you viewers stop by and watch the videos and leave comments. Secondly, this is another great video from the master at casting. We all learn so much from what you do and the advise you give. Looking forward to seeing your next project. Regards Jon
Hi Jon, pleased to give the channel some traction. I'm just a hacker at metal casting, but share what I discover along the way and hope it helps someone else. We are always learning. It's what makes life interesting. Cheers Rob
Thanks Matty. Brass is a hellish price. I've been looking at those old bath taps for years and wondering if t's possible to get some stock out of them. Yes you can. Big $$$$$ saver. Cheers Rob
Hey Rob. Looks like you solved the mystery. Sorry about the flux idea, but I suppose you are right, we live and learn. Thanks for sharing. Now i will go check out the channel you suggested. :-) Joe
No problem Joe. There's very little information out there about doing brass, so anything is worth a try. I've found flux to be unnecessary for ally in the past and was a bit skeptical, but now at least we know ;) Cheers Rob
Hi John, it's early days, but the videos he has produced are very well done and worth watching. It's hard to get traction on RUclips and I try to help people out where they deserve it. Cheers Rob.
That's good to hear. He's in for a surprise I expect. I don't know his name as it hasn't been divulged (not to my knowledge). Good to see that viewers are supporting him. Cheers Rob
Don't forget brass is a composite metal not an alloy. The copper and zinc don't mix chemically and are mixed at different ratios regarding uses. Cartridge brass for example used in ammunition casings is call 70/30 - 70Cu/30Zn is highly ductile for deep drawing and work hardens to withstand the ballistic. Small percentages of copper are included in some aluminium alloys used in air cooled engines, eg BMW motorcycles of past. Most all metallurgical science has been conducted and documented and is available showing the chemistry, properties, grades of temper/hardness and uses. I hope this helps
I use the graphite crucible to cast my aluminium bronze.. I pour into an almost cold crucible and it shrinks and slides out nicely and is fairly straight. And they aren't that expensive on eBay
Looking good Rob, I've cast brass & bronze barstock in the past & some of it finished like yours but on some of them whilst the outside was good they had internal blow holes, not sure why.
Hmmm. I don't know why. It's all trial and error to find a system/process that works. Overall there are so many variables in home casting that can upset the result. Just re-melt and try again ;) Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Aye even professional foundries don't always get it right & we're amateurs at the end of the day, all good fun, I'll b e over to ozz this yr [If "Skomo" lets us!! in] to my daughters.
That's a very good result. Brass is definitely on the expensive side and given I don't have a furnace I'm forced to shell out good money for it. George White in Clayton, VIC are reasonable compared to other places and the off cut pricing on brass and bronze is way cheaper.
Yes. brass is damned expensive and everyone I know uses it sparingly. The trouble with most scrap brass (like taps) is that it's largely unusable for machining and has to be melted down into suitable stock. I'm pleased with the end result and it has been a worthwhile project. Not expensive to do, but time consuming. Cheers Rob
Nice work. Good to see success 👍 I might give it another go myself sometime. I gather your just melting old tap bodies and spindles, offcuts, bits and bobs off the kerbside cleanups?
Brass has gotten so expensive that if you have a way to melt, you can turn scrap copper pipe and a few zinc electrodes into gold. My next alloy experiment at the foundry will be Nordic gold. 89% copper, 5% zinc, 5% aluminum and 1% tin. The 10, 20 and 50 cent euro coins (as well as many others) are made from this alloy. Resistant to wear and tarnish, reasonably hard and tough. If you throw in a little iron you end up with aluminum bronze. Fantastic in corrosive saltwater uses. "C954 aluminum bronze is also readily fabricated and welded and has been used to construct some of the largest nonferrous structures in existence. In terms of composition, this alloy has a minimum of 83% copper with 3%-5% iron, 1.5% nickel, 10%-11.5% aluminum, and 0.5% manganese. 954 bronze is commonly available in flat bar, hollow rod, and solid rod."
Hey Rob just saw an old post you made on a ChrisB257 video about printing plastic gears. Mr Pete put up a couple of videos some time back on this subject and if I remember correctly comparing solid prints versus semi hollow prints.
Hi Tom. Quite a few videos about on printing plastic gears and they seem to do the job. I'm not a big fan of plastic and would rather have metal (aluminium or brass) but if you have a printer it's a solution. Chris has not posted or commented for a long while and I haven't heard any news on how he's faring. Time catches up with everybody and there's nothing we can do about it. So in the grand scheme of things wealth, power, vanity, jealousy and greed are all for nothing. Cheers Rob
Excellent video Rob! I am just wondering if this technique for casting short rounds, if it would produce better aluminum castings as well? Have you considered this or are your aluminum rounds coming out good as is? Surely do appreciate your videos, thank you.
Hi Glenn, the steel mold technique is working fine for aluminium, but I do preheat the mold. Brass cools down much more quickly, so the mold temperature needs to be increased and the pour speed increased. Probably no advantage by increasing the mold temperature for ally as it could encourage gassing I think. Cheers Rob
Rob, found your channel a while ago and have been watching with interest but a lot of what you do is beyond me at the moment. I have a question around brazing and torches etc. I inherited a bunch of stuff from my grandfather a long time ago and only just now starting to realise I want to learn how to do things and one of those is brazing/silver soldering, etc. I have a torch which connects to an LPG tank and runs at full pressure so burns very hot but how do I know if it gets hot enough? There is another torch which has connections for gas as well as air from the compressor. How hotter will that get and is that suitable more suitable to brazing? Also how do you tell from the range of stock I have which rods are brazing or silver soldering rods and so on? I have picked the true solder rods and think I have the aluminium ones too but not sure on the others. Keep up the good work, thanks for the channel. 👍
Hi Ross , to see if a torch is hot enough try heating the rod tip with it and see if it melts. The torch with air assist will be hotter than plain LPG, but there's more to brazing that is equally important, specifically the size and shape of the flame. You need the BTHU's concentrated into a manageable flame. It's no good trying to braze with a big woolly flame (as you usually get with air assisted LPG). It's a bit like comparing a high pressure nozzle on your garden hose to a sprinkler. Regarding the rods, silver solder rods in Australia usually have a yellow marker on the end. There are other colour codes for most rod types, but they invariably disappear over time. It takes an experienced eye to identify plain unmarked rods. Try taking a sample of each to your local BOC Gas agent for advice. Cheers Rob
No, I've never tried that in brass. Obviously you would need to use metal molds for accuracy and finish. They would also need to be able to disassemble for brass extraction. Cheers Rob
That's looking great Rob. Result! Any worries about some of the zinc burning off changing the properties, or thoughts about deliberately buggering about with the alloy (frexample, chucking a bit of aluminium into the melt)?
Hi Michel. This didn't smoke a lot and machined like normal, so I think zinc loss was small. I didn't use a brass compatible insert for this, so the finish was not as good as it can be. It would be possible to add some more copper or zinc, but I don't know how aluminium would go. Still lots of experimenting to do with this, but at least we've got over the main hurdle OK. Just having a glass of red and a think about things ;) Cheers Rob
Fantastic result Rob, well done. A real money saver! Often wondered about old taps (the water ones lol), can you chuck them in the furnace with the chrome plate on or do you need to grind it off first. These would be a plentiful source of brass from the local waste disposal sites etc. Cheers, Jon. P.S, subbed to the new guy in NZ.
Hi Jon, I wondered about the chrome, but tossed it all in the pot and it magically disappeared, so I guess it's in the dross or at the bottom of the crucible. It certainly didn't upset the pour. The NZ channel subscription count went up a lot :) He is also a Jon and is doing some good videos. Cheers Rob
Note: Looks like the two vital things are to heat the mold as hot as possible and do a fast pour of the skimmed brass. Letting it air cool is probably a good thing as well. Cheers Rob
Why is heating the mold crucial?
Prevents surface chilling.@@watosmate8935
Hi Rob. You've definitely cracked it 👍👍👍 Now all you need is a good source of scrap brass! Cheers, Alan.
Hi Alan. Yes, my supply is not huge, and I previously took it to the recycle centre as it was unusable. Now I will have to keep it. I was pleased with the result. Cheers Rob
Hi Rob, firstly thank you very much for the 'shout out', it is most appreciated. I have had a number of you viewers stop by and watch the videos and leave comments. Secondly, this is another great video from the master at casting. We all learn so much from what you do and the advise you give. Looking forward to seeing your next project. Regards Jon
Hi Jon, pleased to give the channel some traction. I'm just a hacker at metal casting, but share what I discover along the way and hope it helps someone else. We are always learning. It's what makes life interesting. Cheers Rob
Having now obtained top brass, I'm going to call you General Rob. 😉
LOL. That's a worry ;) Cheers Rob
The xynudu foundry and casting company strikes again. Way to go Rob.
Hi Harold. I have fulfilled a life time dream ;) Old brass taps are just so useless. Cheers Rob
Gday Rob, beautiful results, brass is bloody expensive here, I certainly don’t use brass if I don’t have to, have a great weekend mate, Cheers
Thanks Matty. Brass is a hellish price. I've been looking at those old bath taps for years and wondering if t's possible to get some stock out of them. Yes you can. Big $$$$$ saver. Cheers Rob
Hey Rob. Looks like you solved the mystery. Sorry about the flux idea, but I suppose you are right, we live and learn. Thanks for sharing. Now i will go check out the channel you suggested. :-)
Joe
No problem Joe. There's very little information out there about doing brass, so anything is worth a try. I've found flux to be unnecessary for ally in the past and was a bit skeptical, but now at least we know ;) Cheers Rob
Excellent result. And thanks for the tip about the Hobby Machinist. I like recommendations from channels I subscribe to.
Hi John, it's early days, but the videos he has produced are very well done and worth watching. It's hard to get traction on RUclips and I try to help people out where they deserve it. Cheers Rob.
@@Xynudu Well, I watched one.... and he gained a subscriber on the strength of that. Enjoy your weekend.
Good one Rob
Been watching for years.
I made one of your parting tool holder , hardened it been good for years..good stuff
Hi Bob. Those simple parting tool holders are the best. Never had an issue with that design and dead simple to make. Cheers Rob
Good Job, Rob, The Hobby Machinist NZ, went from 10 to more than 200 Subs in less than 1/2 a day!
That's good to hear. He's in for a surprise I expect. I don't know his name as it hasn't been divulged (not to my knowledge). Good to see that viewers are supporting him. Cheers Rob
Nice project Rob. I'm looking forward to giving it a try myself when it warms up here. Thanks for the inspiration.
Good move Bob. Should be a money saver. Cheers Rob
Don't forget brass is a composite metal not an alloy. The copper and zinc don't mix chemically and are mixed at different ratios regarding uses. Cartridge brass for example used in ammunition casings is call 70/30 - 70Cu/30Zn is highly ductile for deep drawing and work hardens to withstand the ballistic.
Small percentages of copper are included in some aluminium alloys used in air cooled engines, eg BMW motorcycles of past. Most all metallurgical science has been conducted and documented and is available showing the chemistry, properties, grades of temper/hardness and uses. I hope this helps
Looks delicious 😋 Well done Robbie. You nailed it. 👏👏👍😀
Thank you Andrew 😋 it should be a considerable money saver. Cheers Rob
Good work Rob . A bit of pioneer work and you've proved it can be done.
Info on machine quality brass casting is hard to find.
Hi Lee. Yes, there's not much info out there. It's suck it and see time for much of this. Cheers Rob
Well done Robbie after the failure of the attempt with Borax
Hi Don. Keep trying and eventually things will improve. Just have to fine tune the technique. Cheers Rob
Great result Rob. Well done
Thanks. It was worth the effort. Now I just need to stock up on scrap brass. Cheers Rob
Came out great rob, excellent job.
Yes, it was a good result. Brass cools down very quickly, so a fast pour is vital. Cheers Rob
Excellent result, Rob. Practise makes perfect. A little tweak to the method each time got the desired result. Great stuff and well done. Mart.
Hi Mart. Yes, it's all a learning curve. There has to be a way as other people have made it happen. Should be a good money saver. Cheers Rob
Thanks for sharing and congratulations 👍
Thank you too
I use the graphite crucible to cast my aluminium bronze.. I pour into an almost cold crucible and it shrinks and slides out nicely and is fairly straight. And they aren't that expensive on eBay
What mix is the aluminium bronze ?
Looking good Rob, I've cast brass & bronze barstock in the past & some of it finished like yours but on some of them whilst the outside was good they had internal blow holes, not sure why.
Hmmm. I don't know why. It's all trial and error to find a system/process that works. Overall there are so many variables in home casting that can upset the result. Just re-melt and try again ;) Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu Aye even professional foundries don't always get it right & we're amateurs at the end of the day, all good fun, I'll b e over to ozz this yr [If "Skomo" lets us!! in] to my daughters.
That's a very good result. Brass is definitely on the expensive side and given I don't have a furnace I'm forced to shell out good money for it. George White in Clayton, VIC are reasonable compared to other places and the off cut pricing on brass and bronze is way cheaper.
Yes. brass is damned expensive and everyone I know uses it sparingly. The trouble with most scrap brass (like taps) is that it's largely unusable for machining and has to be melted down into suitable stock. I'm pleased with the end result and it has been a worthwhile project. Not expensive to do, but time consuming. Cheers Rob
Nice work. Good to see success 👍
I might give it another go myself sometime. I gather your just melting old tap bodies and spindles, offcuts, bits and bobs off the kerbside cleanups?
Yes. The taps even had chrome on them. It just went into the dross for removal. Very weird dross compared to what you get with aluminium. Cheers Rob
Looks store-bought Rob. Well done.
WOW, great job man ! Looks like you found a method that work very well ..
Hi Shawn. It does the job. Cheers Rob
Brass has gotten so expensive that if you have a way to melt, you can turn scrap copper pipe and a few zinc electrodes into gold. My next alloy experiment at the foundry will be Nordic gold. 89% copper, 5% zinc, 5% aluminum and 1% tin. The 10, 20 and 50 cent euro coins (as well as many others) are made from this alloy. Resistant to wear and tarnish, reasonably hard and tough. If you throw in a little iron you end up with aluminum bronze. Fantastic in corrosive saltwater uses.
"C954 aluminum bronze is also readily fabricated and welded and has been used to construct some of the largest nonferrous structures in existence. In terms of composition, this alloy has a minimum of 83% copper with 3%-5% iron, 1.5% nickel, 10%-11.5% aluminum, and 0.5% manganese. 954 bronze is commonly available in flat bar, hollow rod, and solid rod."
I might have a go at making some brass. I have some old mangled copper pipe and a zinc sheet that are not otherwise usable. Cheers Rob
Nice work
Hey Rob just saw an old post you made on a ChrisB257 video about printing plastic gears. Mr Pete put up a couple of videos some time back on this subject and if I remember correctly comparing solid prints versus semi hollow prints.
Hi Tom. Quite a few videos about on printing plastic gears and they seem to do the job. I'm not a big fan of plastic and would rather have metal (aluminium or brass) but if you have a printer it's a solution. Chris has not posted or commented for a long while and I haven't heard any news on how he's faring. Time catches up with everybody and there's nothing we can do about it. So in the grand scheme of things wealth, power, vanity, jealousy and greed are all for nothing. Cheers Rob
Excellent video Rob! I am just wondering if this technique for casting short rounds, if it would produce better aluminum castings as well? Have you considered this or are your aluminum rounds coming out good as is? Surely do appreciate your videos, thank you.
Hi Glenn, the steel mold technique is working fine for aluminium, but I do preheat the mold. Brass cools down much more quickly, so the mold temperature needs to be increased and the pour speed increased. Probably no advantage by increasing the mold temperature for ally as it could encourage gassing I think. Cheers Rob
Rob, found your channel a while ago and have been watching with interest but a lot of what you do is beyond me at the moment. I have a question around brazing and torches etc.
I inherited a bunch of stuff from my grandfather a long time ago and only just now starting to realise I want to learn how to do things and one of those is brazing/silver soldering, etc. I have a torch which connects to an LPG tank and runs at full pressure so burns very hot but how do I know if it gets hot enough? There is another torch which has connections for gas as well as air from the compressor. How hotter will that get and is that suitable more suitable to brazing?
Also how do you tell from the range of stock I have which rods are brazing or silver soldering rods and so on? I have picked the true solder rods and think I have the aluminium ones too but not sure on the others.
Keep up the good work, thanks for the channel. 👍
Hi Ross , to see if a torch is hot enough try heating the rod tip with it and see if it melts.
The torch with air assist will be hotter than plain LPG, but there's more to brazing that is equally important, specifically the size and shape of the flame. You need the BTHU's concentrated into a manageable flame. It's no good trying to braze with a big woolly flame (as you usually get with air assisted LPG). It's a bit like comparing a high pressure nozzle on your garden hose to a sprinkler.
Regarding the rods, silver solder rods in Australia usually have a yellow marker on the end. There are other colour codes for most rod types, but they invariably disappear over time. It takes an experienced eye to identify plain unmarked rods. Try taking a sample of each to your local BOC Gas agent for advice. Cheers Rob
Have you ever poured it to make flat stock? would be interesting to see how thin you could pour it.
No, I've never tried that in brass. Obviously you would need to use metal molds for accuracy and finish. They would also need to be able to disassemble for brass extraction. Cheers Rob
Awesome Rob
Money saver $$$$$$$$$ . Turned out good Matthew. Cheers Rob
That's looking great Rob. Result! Any worries about some of the zinc burning off changing the properties, or thoughts about deliberately buggering about with the alloy (frexample, chucking a bit of aluminium into the melt)?
Hi Michel. This didn't smoke a lot and machined like normal, so I think zinc loss was small. I didn't use a brass compatible insert for this, so the finish was not as good as it can be. It would be possible to add some more copper or zinc, but I don't know how aluminium would go. Still lots of experimenting to do with this, but at least we've got over the main hurdle OK. Just having a glass of red and a think about things ;) Cheers Rob
Fantastic result Rob, well done. A real money saver! Often wondered about old taps (the water ones lol), can you chuck them in the furnace with the chrome plate on or do you need to grind it off first. These would be a plentiful source of brass from the local waste disposal sites etc. Cheers, Jon. P.S, subbed to the new guy in NZ.
Hi Jon, I wondered about the chrome, but tossed it all in the pot and it magically disappeared, so I guess it's in the dross or at the bottom of the crucible. It certainly didn't upset the pour. The NZ channel subscription count went up a lot :) He is also a Jon and is doing some good videos. Cheers Rob
Nice one
You’d improve the quality a lot if you used centrifucal casting or vacuum casting to increase density
👍