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Question about brass shim stock & metal working


WeekendMiniaturist

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Jan, well done on your brass fenders!  I can see from the picture that you have had success with bringing the brass back.  Thanks for telling me about your experience as I'm likely to have a similar experience in the future.

Your fireplace accessories look lovely!  It is amazing what you can make with brass.  Do you have a supplier of brass stampings or did your re-purpose something from a found object?

Today, I found a small used crock pot for pickle solution ($2), so I was happy to find one inexpensively.
 

 

 

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Thanks for the compliments!  Most of the fancy brass strip I bought in the UK from Miniature shops or traders.  The smallest fender was made using the brass channel around an old hand mirror from the tip shop!  I very carefully straightened it out and I am pleased with the outcome!  The square brass rod for the corners is from the local hobby shop and the finials and knobs I turned from brass rod.  The bases are all made from scrap brass from a friend's 'stash'!  Total cost in money for the 4 fenders and 2 screens was about $9.  Cost in time and frustration:  months!!!!  Jan

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  • 4 weeks later...

Cool Tools has a very good selection of fancy metals in copper, brass and silver. Bezel wire or gallery wire and patterned wire:

https://www.cooltools.us/Brass-Chain-and-Wire-s/736.htm

Sold in 6" lengths. They also have findings and filigree stampings, metal clay, some tools, patinas, guilder's pastes. . .And fantastic tutorial videos too.

You can also use different solder to get a better color match. Rio grande has both past and wire solder in "brass". I have used their copper solder wire, but haven't tried the brass solder yet:

https://www.riogrande.com/Product/paste-solder-for-brass-bronze-copper-and-yellow-gold-filled/503053

https://www.riogrande.com/product/brass-wire-solder-20-ga/132201/

We use copper tongs in our pickle. Never introduce steel or iron unless you are trying to plate copper onto solder. Brass typically will have a pinkish cast after soldering and pickle, a second pickle in the hydrogen peroxide mix (super pickle)  removes most of the "blush", some might also be fire scale. The rest we polish away.

Super pickle must be made up fresh each few hours as hydrogen peroxide breaks down quickly when exposed to light.

A good article on pickle:

http://metalstudio.blogspot.com/2012/06/in-pickle-all-about-pickling-solutions.html

And a good article with pictures about pink on brass with a recipe for super pickle:

https://shoeboxstudio.com/2014/03/17/gah-pickle-turned-my-silver-and-brass-pink/

Hope this helps! Your fenders look fantastic!

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Thank you Lynda for your post.  The information re pickling is useful.  I need to read it in depth!  And thank you for the link to Cool Tools.  I have seen most of the gallery wires in sterling silver, but not in brass.  Lots of food for inspiration!  I did know about brass solder, but haven't tried it.  I keep thinking that I don't need much more in brass, and will get back to the silver, but new ideas keep appearing!

Jan 

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Lynda S, great website links... the gallery wire is so much fun to see, I have only seen it in sterling and gold in the Rio Grande Catalog, and I've seen brass at that most wonderful store in NY City... http://www.metalliferous.com/, I came home with some wonderful items that have not been used from 2011 and 2012... I really enjoyed my shopping trip to NYC for my mini mis-adventures.  

And I am sure the pickling info will be very helpful to me - sometime in the future.

Thanks for the informative post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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