depaor01 Posted 24 February , 2019 Share Posted 24 February , 2019 Bought this today and have been looking for info about it. All of the pics I've seen show the fuze made of brass. This seems to be in copper. Questions are... Is it a variant as it's not brass? Is it possible to replace the missing ring that should be where the screw is? Thanks as always Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 24 February , 2019 Share Posted 24 February , 2019 (edited) I'm guessing here - but Germany had good supplies of copper of its own, but zinc to make brass may have been problematic because of the British blockade. So they may have tried other alloying metals. Bronze would have been good but I dunno if they could get the tin. What you've got doesn't look red enough for copper, but could be some form of bronze. Copper on its own is soft and sticky, and difficult to machine cleanly and accurately. That gaine projecting down looks as if it might have something in it. It won't be mother's milk. Edited 24 February , 2019 by MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 24 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 24 February , 2019 15 minutes ago, MikB said: I'm guessing here - but Germany had good supplies of copper of its own, but zinc to make brass may have been problematic because of the British blockade. So they may have tried other alloying metals. Bronze would have been good but I dunno if they could get the tin. What you've got doesn't look red enough for copper, but could be some form of bronze. Copper on its own is soft and sticky, and difficult to machine cleanly and accurately. That gaine projecting down looks as if it might have something in it. It won't be mother's milk. The gaine bothered me a bit but I appreciate the info. Thanks, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new3.2 Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 During the American civil war the Confederates made some fuze items of "red brass" which just used a little more copper. new3.2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 I take the point about shortage of zinc and tin, but this does look to me as if an over-soaking in some chemical solution might have also(?) had some effect. I remember with some shame how in 1965, as a volunteer conservation assistant at Gloucester City Museum, I managed to completely transform the appearance of some Roman brooches I was working on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServiceRumDiluted Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 I was told once that some fertilizers react with the zinc, so that when the brass is cleaned up they have a rough coppery look where the surface zinc has left the alloy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peregrinvs Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 As mentioned, it’s just where the zinc has oxidised faster than the copper in the brass leaving a surface of copper on the surface. Unfortunately the only way to get it back to brass would be to grind off the surface, which would essentially be damaging it further. You could try fine sandpaper, but I wouldn’t use anything harsher than that. I think the section at the bottom is the part that initiates the gaine rather than the gaine itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyH Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 (edited) Dave, Your fuze is missing the graduated timer ring, this unthreaded to allow for adjustment, and below that the bottom plate/adaptor with a coarse external thread (these both in brass) that screws into the steel adaptor that in turn, screws into the nose of the steel shell body. The thread visible in your photo is for a ring that is integral with the bottom plate/adaptor. Mike. Edited 25 February , 2019 by MikeyH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Haselgrove Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 Dave, In case you, or others, haven't seen it this website is excellent: http://www.passioncompassion1418.com/decouvertes/english_fusees_collection_all.html#DoppZ92 Regards, Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depaor01 Posted 25 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 25 February , 2019 Great info. Thanks all, Dave Just now, Michael Haselgrove said: Dave, In case you, or others, haven't seen it this website is excellent: http://www.passioncompassion1418.com/decouvertes/english_fusees_collection_all.html#DoppZ92 Regards, Michael. I used that site as my first port of call. It's very comprehensive indeed. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trajan Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 16 minutes ago, Michael Haselgrove said: ...In case you, or others, haven't seen it this website is excellent: http://www.passioncompassion1418.com/decouvertes/english_fusees_collection_all.html#DoppZ92 What an amazing site! Took some dedication, I guess, to pull all that together! Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 You are actually missing two rings. The one that sits under the piece you have is about 5mm thick and carries the powder trail for the fuze. Under that is a heavier piece with the thread that goes into the shell. Here's a couple of photos. One showing all three parts, and the other a side view of the construction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 For comparison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 Nice ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay dubaya Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 23 minutes ago, Gunner Bailey said: Nice ! Well in that case have some more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 Always welcome to see others collectibles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 25 February , 2019 Share Posted 25 February , 2019 7 hours ago, ServiceRumDiluted said: I was told once that some fertilizers react with the zinc, so that when the brass is cleaned up they have a rough coppery look where the surface zinc has left the alloy. That is completely correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now