Brass or Bronze?
- Bill Shields
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
Heat it with a torch and see how it melts
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
guys, there is an easy way to determine brass from bronze. place a piece of brass in acid and it will turn black. Bronze will turn a flat red color. Michael
michael george
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
What kind of acid?
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Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge
Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge
Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
Brass placed in strong acid will turn black. bronze placed in a strong acid will tun a dull red. make sure to remove oil on the material. I use hydrochloric acid
michael george
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
That's not a reliable test, especially if one chose nitric acid, which readily dissolves zinc and copper.michaellynn2 wrote:guys, there is an easy way to determine brass from bronze. place a piece of brass in acid and it will turn black. Bronze will turn a flat red color. Michael
HCl (hydrochloric acid) will readily dissolve tin and zinc. It does not dissolve copper, however (unless oxidized), so if brass is inserted in a dilute HCl solution, it will turn red, just as bronze would (I've done that on numerous occasions, to remove fire coat from reformed and annealed rifle cartridges).
Dilute sulfuric acid will dissolve copper oxides, as well as zinc and tin. End result? Red (the remaining copper).
I am unaware of an acid that will respond as suggested, but that doesn't mean there is no such acid. I am limited by the three I mentioned, as they were used daily in the refining of precious metals.
H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
I have been in the plumbing business for 33 years and can tell the difference between brass and bronze. Brass when left in muratic acid will turn black. Bronze will turn a dull red. Putting the brass in muratic acid will weaken it. It is best to put a sample in the acid.
michael george
Re: Brass or Bronze?
Here is a list of alloys from Kramer: http://hkramer.com/3KramerAlloyProperties.pdf
These are used for making castings, which will not be exactly the same for brass or bronze bar, but it's close enough to realize there is some confusion in naming brass and bronze.
http://hkramer.com/
I buy my ingots from Kramer, and just cast four #8 switch frogs out of their C99700 White Tombasil; is it a brass or bronze?
Below is a photo from a previous pour, I use C99700 for casting smaller parts also:
These are used for making castings, which will not be exactly the same for brass or bronze bar, but it's close enough to realize there is some confusion in naming brass and bronze.
http://hkramer.com/
I buy my ingots from Kramer, and just cast four #8 switch frogs out of their C99700 White Tombasil; is it a brass or bronze?
Below is a photo from a previous pour, I use C99700 for casting smaller parts also:
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Re: Brass or Bronze?
Phosphoric acid will dissolve zinc but not tin or copper.
Re: Brass or Bronze?
Hmmm, that means rust remover such as naval jelly, and Coca Cola, should do the test job. If someone actually does this please let us know your findings. w.John Hasler wrote:Phosphoric acid will dissolve zinc but not tin or copper.
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