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How do I make my gunmetal for a cannon

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Carsonstegall

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So I know the % for gunmetal but how would I measure that out so would I split a pound in 88% 10% and 2% and I also don’t know how I would find out the strength of the alloy
 
If you are planning on building a cannon out of this stuff I strongly recommend that you do NOT try to make it yourself. This can be a life/death issue.

The best thing you can do is to buy some brass that meets your specification.
According to my findings that would be a CDA Alloy # C90500.
If you do buy some of this be sure to get the paper documentation of what you bought from the seller. Without expensive lab equipment it is virtually impossible to determine the true alloy percentages in a piece of brass.

Here's a link to C90500 It shows the alloy content and gives the mechanical properties of the material.

https://www.nationalbronze.com/C90500_Gear_Bronze.php
 
Do you know where I could find any of that alloy?
You could try pressing the RFQ button in the link. RFQ stands for "Request For Quote" or put in laymans terms, "What is your price for XXX pounds of this alloy". (Where XXX is the weight you want to buy).
Being a supplier, they may not want to sell to a private individual but it's worth a try.

Try Googling "C90500 SAE 62" and I'm sure you will come up with a lot of companies who can supply the brass. It's just a matter of finding one that will sell to an individual.
Also, if you live in or near a major industrial city, there are always companies who sell metal to the manufacturing companies in the area. Check the web to see if there are any local suppliers who will sell to the public and call them on the phone.

If you find someplace that will sell it, be sure to request a material certification sheet with the shipment to make sure it is the alloy you want. As I said, there are hundreds of different brass and bronze alloys and their strengths can vary from very weak to very strong. (Very strong isn't always a good idea for a cannon. Materials with very high tensile and yield strengths are often brittle and will explode rather than yield so ductility plays a large part in finding a useful alloy.
 
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