BRASS IS BRASS- ISNT IT? Rob & Judi Anderson - Anderson's Restorations
The answer is -yes and no.
Lets start with the oldest of most of the metals we deal with,. COPPER. It is thought to have first been smelted in 3500BC.
It is reddish- gold in appearance and is very malleable. Copper comes from ore that contains no more then 4% copper
.
BRASS. The best known and most popular of the metals. It consists of Copper and up to 4% Zinc. Some will also have small
quantities of aluminum, lead, manganese, silicon, and or tin. Some examples would be Cartridge Brass or Best Brass, which
is 70% Copper and 30% Zinc. Admiralty Brass is similar to Best Brass except it contains 1-% tin for corrosion resistance and
used a lot on boats.
BRONZE. Basically is a mixture of Copper and Tin but has also come to include other alloys. Bronze was used for weapons
as long ago as 200BC. It is harder then copper, casts well and has good corrosion resisting qualities
.
PEWTER. Today, is approximately 94% Tin, 4 to 5% antimony and I to 2% Copper. This is also called Britannia Metal. Pewter
can be cast, rolled or spun and used for food vessels, utensils or coins.
ZINC. This is mainly used in the production of Brass but you are probably familiar with it for coating iron or galvanizing
for rust prevention.
NICKEL. A silvery white metal which takes a good polishing and resistant to corrosion. It is also widely used as a "pure
" metal in plating.
NICKEL SILVER. Will be discussed later.
GOLD. We can't say much about Gold that you probably don't already know except to mention "Carat". This means a 24th part.
Ex: 18 carat gold has 18 parts, by weight, pure gold and 6 parts alloying elements. The alloying elements are often 3 parts
copper to I part silver .
SILVER. The 2 types of Silver you will see is "Sterling" and "Silverplate" .You will probably never see solid silver. Sterling
comes from the German "Easterlings ". These were immigrants who migrated to England around 1300. They were excellent silversmiths
and the King called upon them to standardize the purity of silver with copper for coin usage. Later the first and last letters
were dropped and 'became "Sterling". In this country since 1850, sterling must be 925 parts silver and 75 parts copper.
Remember Nickel Silver? Well you may find this term along with German Silver on many items. These contain NO silver but
are alloys of nickel, copper and zinc. Some other stampings you will see are;
E.P.N.S. Electroplate on Nickel Silver.
E.P.B.M. Electroplate on Britannia Metal. E.P.W.M Electroplate on White Metal. E.P.C. Electroplate on Copper.
Here's a tip. If you don't have, you should get a small magnet to carry to test brass. A magnet won't stick to brass, copper
or pot metal. If an item is not marked and a magnet sticks, it's plated not solid. HOWEVER, there are some exceptions. Old
brass beds can be solid brass but for added strength use a steel liner in posts and steel rods inside cross pieces. This can
cause the magnet to try and stick. Floor and table lamps will also have the steel rod usually to hold the individual pieces
together and run the wire inside.
Brass color will very too. Most imported brass seems to be darker which comes from the amount of zinc used, the more zinc-
the darker the brass.
If you need a piece of hardware for furniture, chances are you will never find that missing pull for your dresser. Save
the old ones and get GOOD replacement hardware matching any existing holes if possible.
If you like your brass shining, coat with lacquer or wax right after polishing. If you like more "age" on brass and copper,
wait till it darkens to where you like it, then coat to keep it from getting darker.
Till Next Time,
C2001-2006 Rob & Judi Anderson/Anderson's Restorations. May not be reprinted without written permission.
