The big problem is that there isn't "brass"; there are hundreds of alloys of brass: some will hot forge, some will not; some will cold forge, some will not, some will cast well, some will not; some (a few) contain quite toxic elements (Be); thankfully most do not.
So unless you know what you actually have you end up having to experiment to see what it will do.
Note that bearing alloys may contain lead and spark proof tooling may contain Be---DO NOT MESS WITH Be CONTAINING ALLOYS!
So for casting I would suggest searching for backyard metal casting sites.
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Thomas
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