brass springs

Paul,

Heating and quenching brass anneals it (makes it soft) unlike carbon steel where it has the opposite effect.

The brass will 'work harden' - so if you lay it on a flat anvil (or back of vice or whatever) and lightly tap it all over with a ball of a small ball pein hammer it will harden up - with the small part you have there it may be easier to roll it with a big steel roller

Incidentally, some locks of that style have a nick cut in the brass and a steel leaf let in.

AWEM

had a special composition.

You could try copying the original by hand ( hammering the brass well before starting work on it).

Looking at the photo, I would say that your square joint where the base of the spring meets the main portion of the piece isn't going to work in your favour. The silver soldering shouldn't be a problem as it's not in a section that would be under much stress.

As you've already seen, heating and quenching isn't going to work on brass spring, and you'll need to work harden it. I find the best method is to use a burnisher ( any old bit of polished steel will do ) to stroke the tension back into the brass. Just lay the piece down on a hard, flat surface and rub the burnisher over the spring portion with a decent amount of pressure ( use a lube to make the job easier ). This process tend to distort the brass ( it will curl ), so you'll need to turn the piece over from time to time. You should also be able to burnish the upper edge of the spring.

Regards,

Pinch her ass?? ;-)

Regards, Tony

You owe me one credit at cleaning-beer-from-keyboards-r-us :)

Tim

LOL Reminds me of my school days ;-) Last time I did that though, I got a smack in the chops! GeoffH yesterday is the day you worried about, the day before

In message , Paul A Prescott writes

It may look like brass but could it be PB?

The ball pein hammer idea worked a treat, thanks guys.

This design of springing is quite earlier than the added steel spring.

Paul

Paul,

All part of the service!

AWEM