brass grades?

[Matthew N. Masail]

what is the best form of brass to get for hand work? I see mostly 360 and CZ121

[David Weaver]

What kind of hand work? Filing or hammering?

360 is a machinable brass (it's what most slotted saw backs are made of as far as I know). It's not as malleable as some others, though.

260 brass is more malleable, but probably doesn't file or machine quite as well

I have seen planemakers mention using naval brass also, which is numbered 464, I haven't worked it but I recall someone remarking that it pinned (plugged) files.

[george wilson]

I might mention that 360 alloy doesn't solder with lead solder. It solders fine with lead free,or silver solder. 260 alloy has a slightly greenish tint. You probably wouldn't notice it. 360 is a bit "pink" looking compared to 260.

Both these tints are very slight. You only notice them when comparing the polished brasses side by side.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Thanks, only filling is planned so 360 would be it. thanks

[Bruce Page]

FWIW, I have machined just about every flavor brass known to man – and a few custom exotics as well. I have never found any brass that didn’t machine well in a machine shop environment using proper tooling. Drilling some brass types can require a special grind on the drill bit tip, but in normal milling, and particularly turning operations, it machines well.