looking for info on brass and copper working

[monkeywright]

Ok here just going to toss this out there for anyone was going to look into start working with brass and copper and at this point in time I'm not finding a lot that is more than here is what I have for sale type sites  I'm looking to start small and to show the local kids here at our Mt man fair another side of this time line now here is where things get fun fast this is in April ( I know nothing like jumping in with both feet right)

now I have a back ground in metal working ( almost 20 yrs as a millwright) but brass and copper is not something that we worked with but I have a feeling that a lot of my back ground will cross over how ever ....

any help here would be great any ideas on things that I can work with the kids during the fair would be outstanding
thank you all for any thing that you can come up with

[sean drake]

Monky get a hold of Heather or old salt have them get you a number for a man named rick H and see what he can do for you he is a local gun bilder and biker he makes most of his brass and locks for his guns good luck and have fun just rember when he sayes he works the brass while he waches tv in his living room he is single and lives a lone so no wife to worry about making mad

[monkeywright]

not sure mine would let me play in the house heck she barely lets me sleep in the house think it has something to do with not being house broke yet

[alsask]

Google up Edmonton House Brigade.  They have plans for a copper kettle on their site that the North West Fur trade company and Hudson's Bay Co. used trade with the Indians.  It's a cool site with a lot of fur trade info of Alberta on it.

[Otter]

MW, were you wanting to cast, hammer or solder sheet??
A good hammer exercise is to use a 4 to 8 oz ball pien hammer and a piece of oak that has a hole drilled in it as an anvil. Use a piece of copper sheet about the thickness of guttering or roofing material as stock. Put the sheet on the wooden anvil and peck away at the sheet over the hole in the surface. The series of small dents can be controlled and made into any number of curves, shapes or even pieces to solder together. Remember that copper and brass will work harden and will need to be annealed to prevent cracking. I have used a simple propane torch with good success for annealing.  There are quite a number of special hammers you can buy but a decent ball pien with a smoothed ball end works for many, many projects.
If you want to cast brass or bronze that can take a good bit of practice. The beauty though is that ya can melt down the mistakes and try it again!

[NAULTRICK1]

Google up Edmonton House Brigade.  They have plans for a copper kettle on their site that the North West Fur trade company and Hudson's Bay Co. used trade with the Indians.  It's a cool site with a lot of fur trade info of Alberta on it.

Where you at Buddy, sounds like ya mighty close. Maybe we can get ta gether at the range and swap idears 

[shootrj2003]

 a heavy canvas sack filled tightly with sand is a good anvil for peening out bowls and other sheet work

[DandJofAZ]

Like that sack of  sand anvil idea...have to give that a try with a sheet of brass I have just lying around..

Doug

[Otter]

The sand sack is a good one indeed. It would certainly be easier to use than the hole in a board I've used in the past. Hmmmm

[shootrj2003]

I remember that from metal shop and you could do a lot with it and a ball peen hammer and vary the effects with other hammers and malllets.