I have been collecting sand and spacer rings out of High Pressure pumps used in the fracturing of natural gaswells. They look to be made primarily made of brass, but I have yet to find a temp at which it will liquify. What is the melting point of Brass and can that temp be obtained using coal as fuel? The engineer that designed one of the pumps we use said the rings arre an alloy. The melting point of Brass would be my first goal, then on from there.

In case your wondring I want to cast a cannon.

Thanx Rich:confused:

You better find out what they are before you kill yourself. Brass melts easily in a forge, very easily. If it doesn't melt at a medium-high red it ain't brass.

However there are a number of alloys that would laugh at high yellow that are pretty common in the oil patch, Monel being one and inconel being another. Though they aren't gold colored a little cadmium plating and they would be. They'd also be extremely toxic, especially if you heat them in a forge. Something in the range of fatal at very VERY small doses.

Try calling the oil tool company that makes the things and asking what they are. If you can't find out for sure I'd leave them be, maybe use them for weights in a sealed unit or something.

Frosty

Lots of alloys of brass that would be very very BAD for making cannon; though you could sleeve it with steel and get away with an ornamental brass surround.

If you plan to make a cannon entirely out of unknown scrap brass with very little experience in casting of same could you first go before a Notary and say: "I Rich being of sound mind and body do hereby bequeath and bequest all of my tools to Thomas Powers..."

(I have a small cannon---2" bore--- that I had made by a votech machining program with consultation by a gunsmith. it was made of steel though. Try to find a drill sub with damaged male threads with about 8" dia walls and less than 2" bore and look into converting that.

Edited March 17, 200917 yr by ThomasPowers

Casting very small decorative canon is OK but firing models is not the best of ideas. Several years ago I cast some out of silicone bronze with metal sleeves and all but one blew apart. Of course it could be operator malfunction instead of casting fault knowing the idiots that shot them but still better safe then sorry.

Casting your own cannon is a really BAD idea.

Frosty

Ok point WELL TAKEN will just sell rings for scrap. But I still want to try sandcasting of smaller pieces. As for the cannon, well I have other ideas on that want to use a stainless steel inner sleeve.

Thanx Rich