BRASS

Brass is a metal which is often overlooked in modern time . Brass is a mixture of copper and zinc. Different grades of brass are next to impossible to distinguish without access to Metallurgical apparatus. Brass is easily identified by it's yellowish appearance similar to that of gold, with the exception being red brass which has a higher copper content , and is rarely come by. Brass is very strong and has a tensile strength of 60,000 psi which is rather close in strength to that of mild steel ,which is only 70,000 psi. The wonderful thing about brass is it's machining capabilities, this stuff turns beautifully on a lathe and is easily ground, cut , and polished, it will maintain a shine for a fairly long length of time. Brass is difficult to weld without a very large heat source and preheating , this is due to it's excellent conductive qualities. But on the bright side it is easy to solder and braze . The downfall of brass is that it "work hardens" this means the more you bend it the harder it gets until it breaks . And it's molecular density which makes it's uses limited on weight restricted projects.

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