Bending Brass

[Mainer]

The "tang" on the top of my brass butt plate is bent slightly upwards and stands proud of the stock by about 3/16". Can anyone tell me how to remedy this. How much "give" is there in brass to allow me to bend it before it breaks and how should I do this if possible. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Brass has lots of give, but gets "springy" when it's worked. You would probably want to anneal it before trying to bend it back. Heat it up to glowing red with a propane torch, and dunk it in water. This will anneal the brass and make it softer so it will want to bend. Then, you can mount the buttplate in a padded vise and bend it with a rubber mallet or a block of wood or something along those lines.

 

[Mainer]

Thanks. Do I have to do anything to the brass after I anneal and bend or is it ok to leave as is?

 

[Packdog]

What kind of buttplate are we talking about? Is the buttplate tang standing above the stock something that just developed?
I question if somehow when you screw the buttplate's comb screw in, is it bowing the tang. If this is the case when you bend it down it will just bend back up and might even get worse it the brass is annealed and bends easier.
PD

 

[flashpanner]

It is fine as is after forming it to your corrrect profile. Just dress it up by normal finishing processes. I have annealed brass several times and then polished it out just fine.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Best make sure it is brass, appearances are deceiving, if bronze, one may come to rue a heat and quench.

 

[Zonie]

If the Buttplate was a sand casting (read, rough as a cob), it most likely is made of Brass.
The Annealing described will make it very soft and easily pounded down to fit the stock. :imo:

 

[Mainer]

Thanks for everyone's help. To answer some of the questions:
The buttplate is definitely brass. It is not a new condition, just one that I want to fix finally. It's a cosmetic thing.