Before & After

[The Horn]

Understood, keep the other pics coming.

Have you found any brass that has been de-leaded from exposure to salt water?

 

[aue-mike]

I would have identified the oval shaped ring as a chaffing ring used in the bulwarks to prevent rope and wood wear when your vessel was secured. A scupper is a deck drain that is lead overboard usually by a pipe and the hull penetration would be round in profile. The hawse pipe is for anchor chain or rope and would also be round in profile and would leave the vessel at the bow also below the bulwarks, where was the ring located?

Not necessarily. Many times on sailing or work vessels, they served multiple purposes. That is, the "hole" could work as a scupper as well as feed spring or other hawser lines (not just at the bow). You are correct in that it was brass to protect the lines, which would get torn up if exposed steel rusting over time. Scuppers are not round and not a pipe, they are at deck level and are long and oval. Look on any dive boat and they appear very similar.

 

[Diver Dude]

I have seen these on smaller boats (60-70 feet). They are used for dock lines.

 

[Diver Dude]

Understood, keep the other pics coming.

Have you found any brass that has been de-leaded from exposure to salt water?

Yes, some items do.
None of the more robust items have this condition.

 

[Gilldiver]

Yes, some items do.
None of the more robust items have this condition.

It is not de-lead, it is dezincafication. Brass is a alloy of copper and zink. Bronze is copper and tin. Zinc is added to make the part cheaper and to aid machining and working the alloy. Parts like washers and flat stock from rolled or cold worked metal will have higher zinc %. After a bit of time, all the zinc can be removed leaving a very pourous and weal copper matrix. I have looked at parts over 1/2" thick and seen total removal of the zinc within 80 years.

With brass, at about 35% zinc you will start to get the zinc selectivly corroding out. Some better brasses will have about 3% tin and a touch of lead to control this corrosion.

I am cleaning an assembly right now and it is an interesting mix of cast brass/bronz in perfict shape (nice bright yellow metal) and dezinc alloys - very soft and much redder.

Pete

 

[Diver Dude]

It is not de-lead, it is dezincafication. Brass is a alloy of copper and zink. Bronze is copper and tin. Zinc is added to make the part cheaper and to aid machining and working the alloy. Parts like washers and flat stock from rolled or cold worked metal will have higher zinc %. After a bit of time, all the zinc can be removed leaving a very pourous and weal copper matrix. I have looked at parts over 1/2" thick and seen total removal of the zinc within 80 years.

With brass, at about 35% zinc you will start to get the zinc selectivly corroding out. Some better brasses will have about 3% tin and a touch of lead to control this corrosion.

I am cleaning an assembly right now and it is an interesting mix of cast brass/bronz in perfict shape (nice bright yellow metal) and dezinc alloys - very soft and much redder.

Pete

Zinc, of course. Too early in the morning to think clearly.

 

[Diver Dude]

My best find...

 

[Diver Dude]

Just an interesting side note here concerning pulling artifacts off wrecks.
I made an appointment with the head curator of a marintine museum to get his insight on this bell. After talking for a while he said, very non-judgementally, that if I wanted to donate this to the museum he could not accept it. It was museum policy that if the artifact was not professionally excavated it could not be received by the museum (I didn't want to give it away anyway). He did say that I should tag it with info that I have found so that one day, when I am gone, this bell's story will not be lost to history.
I thought that was excellent advice. I'm cataloging all of my finds, that is part of the reason I take before and after pics. I'm not saying anything I have found is a museum piece by any standard but, I can see that bell in a library or a dusty corner of some future dive shop someday. It would be sad if no story was attached.
So to all of you who are lucky enough to find cool artifacts....tag it!

 

[The Horn]

Gilldiver, you are correct. was trying to think of correct terminology but failed. Should have not posted

 

[Diver Dude]

Didn't clean this this thing up 100% because I want it to look like it came from the sea.
The dimensions are 18" x 18", 112 pounds. No markings on it at all.
Sorry about the pictures being so large. I haven't mastered the black art of picture size yet.