Beryllium copper or brass ?? Need an ID.

[56type]

Found some "mystery metal" that I'm hoping is brass since I can make it into a thread protector for my Atlas 10100 Mk.2 with just a few operations on the lathe. Problem is I can't tell BeCu from brass or bronze and I'd rather not mess with a material that is toxic if some micro particles make it into the lungs. Here's a few pics that I hope can help the more experienced can help with the ID, all the pics were taken in sunlight outside for truest color of the material. You can sort of see the thread protector in the existing shape of it... Thanks.

 

[pontiac428]

With a slug like that, it's really hard to tell. Be-alloy will be less dense than copper, that would be a good starting point. If it weighs any less than a slug of pure copper at the same size, I'd decline to machine it. Beryllium disease is awful, like all metal poisonings are. There is evidence that even particles trapped under the skin have toxic effects, so caution is not just for grinding dust. Unless you need the thermal expansion properties of beryllium for avionics or need to put a hatch spring on spacecraft, there's little use for it in the home shop.

 

[Aukai]

Check with a performance cylinder head porting service in your area, they might be able to tell. They use Beryllium for valve seats, or just don't take the chance.

 

[56type]

Check with a performance cylinder head porting service in your area, they might be able to tell. They use Beryllium for valve seats, or just don't take the chance.

Thanks...I have a small local shop that may be able to help. I'll run it by there & see if anyone knows.

 

[Aukai]

The picture looks to have saw blade marks that to me make it look less dangerous. But you just don't know...

 

[Ulma Doctor]

beryllium bronze is the toughest copper based alloy you will ever come across.
try to score it with a coarse file
if the file bounces off, you may just have some BeCu !!!

 

[addertooth]

Beryllium and Hydrochloric acid (HCL) reacts, Copper and Hydrochloric acid do not react. A few drops of HCL on the suspect metal should tell you the story. If you get a reaction (bubbles, etching, etc), then it may have Beryllium alloyed with the copper. Do this test outside, and away from where creatures (including you) are.

If you have a Known piece of brass nearby, perform the same test on it and compare the reaction. The piece with beryllium will have a stronger reaction.

 

[chips&more]

Your piece of mystery metal is so small I would not bother with it and take the health risk chance. Just start over with a known piece of metal.

 

[spumco]

Call these people - they're in Louisville.

https://atslab.com/locations/louisville-ky/

Most NDT/NDE labs (Non-Destructive Testing) have a PMI gun (positive material identification) for identifying materials - i.e. validating a material to make sure it meet some specification or contractual obligation.

Other outfits likely to have PMI guns: large scrap dealers, large jewlery purchasers (!!!We Buy Gold!!!), and other places where it pays them to know exactly what they're buying with. The guns are rather expensive so little Mom & Pop pawn shops aren't likely to have one.

If you're buying a truckload of Inconel scrap you're not going to trust Bubba's grinder to see if the sparks look right.

Most of those places are staffed with folks who would be happy to shoot the object in question, especially if you bring a box of doughnuts or bucket of coffee and there's no paperwork or record of what they're doing (i.e. not going to defend the results in court).

 

[56type]

Call these people - they're in Louisville.

https://atslab.com/locations/louisville-ky/

Most NDT/NDE labs (Non-Destructive Testing) have a PMI gun (positive material identification) for identifying materials - i.e. validating a material to make sure it meet some specification or contractual obligation.

Other outfits likely to have PMI guns: large scrap dealers, large jewlery purchasers (!!!We Buy Gold!!!), and other places where it pays them to know exactly what they're buying with. The guns are rather expensive so little Mom & Pop pawn shops aren't likely to have one.

If you're buying a truckload of Inconel scrap you're not going to trust Bubba's grinder to see if the sparks look right.

Most of those places are staffed with folks who would be happy to shoot the object in question, especially if you bring a box of doughnuts or bucket of coffee and there's no paperwork or record of what they're doing (i.e. not going to defend the results in court).

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Thanks for that link !! Next time I run across some brass-looking metal I'll give them a call. I did wind up having the piece in question ID'ed by an older machinist turned college instructor as brass. He simply took a large enough cut on a Clausing lathe so as not to produce a chip size small enough to be accidentally inhaled/ingested. He looked the freshly exposed metal over fairly closely as well as the chips & pronounced it as brass. He had a background that included working with BeCu in the past so I trusted his ID on the material.