Seven Centuries of Brass Making
by O. A. Kenyon
reprinted by Lindsay Publications Inc

Geez... There is so much really great material in old issues of American Machinist Magazine, that I tend to forget about other periodicals like Power, or Machinery Magazine. But I'm working on them, too.

For now however, you get yet another fascinating collection of heavily illustrated1920 articles, this time, covering the brass industry. It's not only about the history of this special foundry technology, but you'll get a detailed tour of the Bridgeport Brass Company and watch them pour molds, make rod, wire and tubes.

Chapters include historic notes, the crucible process, using the electric furnace, phono-electric wire, brass and copper tubes, sheet brass, extruded words and wires, and characteristics of brass.

Also included are several pages of practical hints and tips as told by the readers of American Machinist to other readers. And that includes a lot of down-to-earth practical how-to.

If you pour metal, you should have a copy of this on your reference shelf. There may be techniques you may want to try on a small scale, or others you may want to avoid so that you don't poison yourself! But this is how the old guys did it in a simpler time.

For the rest of us, this is a slice of the history of technology dealing with that dense magical metal called brass. Get a copy! 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 softcover 96 pages 87 illustrations

No. 23993 ... $9.95

"I have made brass castings in a small way for over forty years, mixing the metals according to the formulas in Haswell's text book, and using all kinds of scrap brass.

I grade the scrap brass altogether by the color; I take a sharp coarse file and file each piece; those which show up a rich red color I use, as there is a large proportion of copper in the original mixture. This is commonly known as red brass.

I use fine coke in melting. I take the heavy pieces of brass, heat them red hot, and then break them up into small pieces and place them in a crucible while hot. I fill the crucible full, and start the fire on the forge..." "Crucibles

The crucibles, which are ordinarily made of clay and graphite, usually have a capacity of from 160 to 300 lb. of metal. They require great care in handling in order to obtain a satisfactory life, and for this reason and others they constitute one of the weakest elements in the casting shop. Ordinarily the life of a crucible is from 25 to 35 heats, depending upon the manner in which it is handled, and some casters, by virtue of special practices, get even longer life out of their crucibles. Comparing modern crucibles with those used in the middle ages, it is difficult to see any appreciable difference except the introduction of graphite, which has greatly increased their durability...."