Brass and Bronze Question

[olmontanaboy]

I know that some canon barrels were made of bronze, and some revolver frames were/are made of brass. What is the difference in these metals. How does bronze compare to iron and steel. Was bronze used because of war time shortages of steel/iron? Also were any revolver frames made of bronze during the civil war?

 

[B.L.E.]

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and sometimes phosphorus.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc.

Bronze is actually harder and stronger than wrought iron and was the metal used for casting bells. I guess the foundries that cast cannon barrels chose bronze because of their experience with casting bells with this metal.

 

[Hawg]

The South used what they called gun metal which was bronze with a high copper content but the revolvers were .36 caliber only. A lot of church bells went to the smelter to make some of these and cannon barrels too.

 

[Buck Conner]

B.L.E. = Bronze is actually harder and stronger than wrought iron and was the metal used for casting bells.

We just sold a pair of 3 foot East India deck cannons that dated back to the mid 1600's made in bronze. This type of bronze cannon was a big trade item during the sailing ship dates for Eastern countries. Have had some 1700's bronze barreled East Asia pistols as well, seems this was a material many of the Eastern countries used in firearms. On the other hand we see European brass barreled sidearms as well as shoulder arms? Hope this makes you think about these materials, really not a straight forward answer?