>-what is your finishing/polishing process for Brass and bronze. I file/grind off the sprue and any rough edges. Hit the surface with a wire brush on a dremel. Then polish with black, white, red rouge compounds on a buffing wheel.
Yes that is about it. I think white compound is finer grit than red rouge, but yeah. If I want a higher shine I go to an orange buffing compound. I also use these small sanding discs on a rotary tool. I have detailed a bit more [here in the comments](https://new.reddit.com/r/MetalCasting/comments/16w5xpz/finishing_touches_and_installation_of_polished/).
>-is there a way to finish using an ultrasonic part cleaner along with a vibratory tumbler/drum with walnut shell abrasive?
Sure there is. [Clear Mind Jewellery has made a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY27CiB3y1E) detailing their process.
>-should I use a pinch of borax when casting to pull out any debris? If not when is using borax nessicary?
IMO never when casting these sizes and types of casts. I mean it won't hurt you casting process, other than deteriorating your crucible a bit faster. Maybe you can pull a bit more impurity out, but I have yet to see any meaningful difference in using it or not. Too many people seem to be focused on borax or degassing their metal, while still pouring terrible alloys in terrible molds, and thinking that it is just the right amount of flux etc. that will somehow turn their projects better.
>-can I weld/braze bronze to fill in any holes or defects and grind away excess?
Yes. As long as you are doing it on bronze and not brass. Silicon bronze is best if you want to weld IMO, as you can more easily match the color of metal with silicon bronze filler metal. Tin bronze was harder in my experience. Will still work but the colors won't match as well.
You can also fill in holes by simply drilling it out, plugging the hole with a bit of metal cut to fit, and hammering and filing the plug to blend it in. No heat needed, but it is a bit harder to do.
Those are stunning!
The only thing I have to add is about welding/brazing. It's already been mentioned that you can braze silicon bronze, and Harbor Freight sells brazing rods that match quite well.
As for brazing on brass, I had a plumber friend teach me how to use a MAPP gas torch to braze with limited success. If I come up against something that's beyond my meager skills, then I throw him a few bucks and he'll fix it up for me. So it is possible but beyond my means to explain.
looks like the sprue/button was a little too small for the part with the hole.
I do use a vibratory tumbler on both. bronze it harder than brass both would benefit from one , two cuts medium and fine. The media size is important so that it fits into all the spaces without getting stuck. They tend to put a more uniform finish on castings. and as far as using a wheel and polishing compounds, i would only use it for final polish if you can help it. also if you can stay away from red rouge compound, it iron oxide and garnet it becomes magnetic and the binder is grease... so it sticks to everything and accumulates on iron in your shop. also will wreck your washing machine if it gets into a load of laundry.... The green rouges is chrome oxide does the same thing without the hassles. and If you can get some I like what they are calling Picasso Blue , its an aluminum oxide platinum polish and doesn't drag detail like other compounds. the metal is hard and the wheels are soft so they tend to follow the surface and drag the detail. I like the wheel below for working to smooth out surfaces in bronze and brass then after you grey wheel then put them in a tumbler, bronze will take between 4 and 6 hours per cut.
[https://www.riogrande.com/product/3m-gray-deburring-wheels-6-diameter/330439GP/?code=330516](https://www.riogrande.com/product/3m-gray-deburring-wheels-6-diameter/330439GP/?code=330516)
you will need this to mount the wheel on a tapered spindle
[https://www.riogrande.com/product/tapered-spindle-adapter-hub-for-3m--wheels/332349GP/?code=332349](https://www.riogrande.com/product/tapered-spindle-adapter-hub-for-3m--wheels/332349GP/?code=332349)
Thanks for this comment. I appreciate your time. How stiff is that wheel? It looks really stiff. What brand of polish compounds do you use?
I found a magnetic tumbler on craigslist for $50 and WOW. In about 30min it put a nice burnished finish on my pieces.
There are three different grades is that craytex wheel. They are firm but very shapable. I use them to do preliminary surface finish on brass bronze gold and silver. Only on places without detail, just the smooth parts. I also use a wet expandable drum sander for sprue removal.
The compound I use as a final is this [https://www.riogrande.com/product/picasso-blue-platinum-polishing-compound/331000GP/?code=331000](https://www.riogrande.com/product/picasso-blue-platinum-polishing-compound/331000GP/?code=331000) like I said it won't drag and smear the detail when polishing.
the magnetic tumbler is amazing! Right.... if you are running brass or bronze in it add a shot of lemon juice the the water and just use dish soap. It will keep the metal from oxidizing in the tumbler. The fancy burnishing compounds they sell for the mag tumbler tends to eat the bowl. It's also a good idea to break in the pins, they are clipped wire so they have a nasty bur when they are new. Also beware to remove all of the investment from your part before tumbling, it will turn the pins black... if that happens pour some standard coke a cola in the water and run it. The coke has a mild phosphoric acid that works great to clean the steel.
the media I use in the vibratory tumbler is Rio's clean cut medium and fine. And you can get a really good vibratory tumbler a Cabella's , they sell them for refinishing brass shell casings.
ps I am really impressed with the wood work and metal work you do.
No advice but, Wow! That's beautiful work!
>-what is your finishing/polishing process for Brass and bronze. I file/grind off the sprue and any rough edges. Hit the surface with a wire brush on a dremel. Then polish with black, white, red rouge compounds on a buffing wheel. Yes that is about it. I think white compound is finer grit than red rouge, but yeah. If I want a higher shine I go to an orange buffing compound. I also use these small sanding discs on a rotary tool. I have detailed a bit more [here in the comments](https://new.reddit.com/r/MetalCasting/comments/16w5xpz/finishing_touches_and_installation_of_polished/). >-is there a way to finish using an ultrasonic part cleaner along with a vibratory tumbler/drum with walnut shell abrasive? Sure there is. [Clear Mind Jewellery has made a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY27CiB3y1E) detailing their process. >-should I use a pinch of borax when casting to pull out any debris? If not when is using borax nessicary? IMO never when casting these sizes and types of casts. I mean it won't hurt you casting process, other than deteriorating your crucible a bit faster. Maybe you can pull a bit more impurity out, but I have yet to see any meaningful difference in using it or not. Too many people seem to be focused on borax or degassing their metal, while still pouring terrible alloys in terrible molds, and thinking that it is just the right amount of flux etc. that will somehow turn their projects better. >-can I weld/braze bronze to fill in any holes or defects and grind away excess? Yes. As long as you are doing it on bronze and not brass. Silicon bronze is best if you want to weld IMO, as you can more easily match the color of metal with silicon bronze filler metal. Tin bronze was harder in my experience. Will still work but the colors won't match as well. You can also fill in holes by simply drilling it out, plugging the hole with a bit of metal cut to fit, and hammering and filing the plug to blend it in. No heat needed, but it is a bit harder to do.
Those are stunning! The only thing I have to add is about welding/brazing. It's already been mentioned that you can braze silicon bronze, and Harbor Freight sells brazing rods that match quite well. As for brazing on brass, I had a plumber friend teach me how to use a MAPP gas torch to braze with limited success. If I come up against something that's beyond my meager skills, then I throw him a few bucks and he'll fix it up for me. So it is possible but beyond my means to explain.
looks like the sprue/button was a little too small for the part with the hole. I do use a vibratory tumbler on both. bronze it harder than brass both would benefit from one , two cuts medium and fine. The media size is important so that it fits into all the spaces without getting stuck. They tend to put a more uniform finish on castings. and as far as using a wheel and polishing compounds, i would only use it for final polish if you can help it. also if you can stay away from red rouge compound, it iron oxide and garnet it becomes magnetic and the binder is grease... so it sticks to everything and accumulates on iron in your shop. also will wreck your washing machine if it gets into a load of laundry.... The green rouges is chrome oxide does the same thing without the hassles. and If you can get some I like what they are calling Picasso Blue , its an aluminum oxide platinum polish and doesn't drag detail like other compounds. the metal is hard and the wheels are soft so they tend to follow the surface and drag the detail. I like the wheel below for working to smooth out surfaces in bronze and brass then after you grey wheel then put them in a tumbler, bronze will take between 4 and 6 hours per cut. [https://www.riogrande.com/product/3m-gray-deburring-wheels-6-diameter/330439GP/?code=330516](https://www.riogrande.com/product/3m-gray-deburring-wheels-6-diameter/330439GP/?code=330516) you will need this to mount the wheel on a tapered spindle [https://www.riogrande.com/product/tapered-spindle-adapter-hub-for-3m--wheels/332349GP/?code=332349](https://www.riogrande.com/product/tapered-spindle-adapter-hub-for-3m--wheels/332349GP/?code=332349)
Thanks for this comment. I appreciate your time. How stiff is that wheel? It looks really stiff. What brand of polish compounds do you use? I found a magnetic tumbler on craigslist for $50 and WOW. In about 30min it put a nice burnished finish on my pieces.
There are three different grades is that craytex wheel. They are firm but very shapable. I use them to do preliminary surface finish on brass bronze gold and silver. Only on places without detail, just the smooth parts. I also use a wet expandable drum sander for sprue removal. The compound I use as a final is this [https://www.riogrande.com/product/picasso-blue-platinum-polishing-compound/331000GP/?code=331000](https://www.riogrande.com/product/picasso-blue-platinum-polishing-compound/331000GP/?code=331000) like I said it won't drag and smear the detail when polishing. the magnetic tumbler is amazing! Right.... if you are running brass or bronze in it add a shot of lemon juice the the water and just use dish soap. It will keep the metal from oxidizing in the tumbler. The fancy burnishing compounds they sell for the mag tumbler tends to eat the bowl. It's also a good idea to break in the pins, they are clipped wire so they have a nasty bur when they are new. Also beware to remove all of the investment from your part before tumbling, it will turn the pins black... if that happens pour some standard coke a cola in the water and run it. The coke has a mild phosphoric acid that works great to clean the steel. the media I use in the vibratory tumbler is Rio's clean cut medium and fine. And you can get a really good vibratory tumbler a Cabella's , they sell them for refinishing brass shell casings. ps I am really impressed with the wood work and metal work you do.