Cutting brass sideplate

[joeboleo1]

What is the best (only?) way to cut sheet brass for a plain sideplate. Is a jeweler's saw needed? Thanks

 

[Ed Wingenroth]

Hack-Saw ???

8>))

 

[Zonie]

A jeweler's saw will work but the very fine (thin) blade is super easy to break. If you buy one get LOTS of blades.

A coping saw with a super fine pitch saw blade might be a better choice but here again, because the blades are made for cutting wood you probably will need to buy lots of them.

 

[Birddog6]

First ya need a pattern. If you have a TOW catalog or another with what you want, copy it on a copier & then cut it out carefully right along the edges. You can trace the outline on the brass with a felt tipped pen (permanent ink) or or scribe it with a scribe. You want the pattern on the brass with the rounded piece on the edge, and the flat part as parallel to the other edge as you can get it. Put the sheet in a vice & take a power band saw & cut the piece off. (Hard to cut curves with one so straight edge is easier) Or if you don't have that a hacksaw will work, it will take a while. Now take it to a vertical belt sander & grind out the shape. (They make stands for some portable belt sanders) At the sharp corners go back to the vice & use a 3 corner file.
Do the bevels with a hand file.

Or that is how I do them anyway. :wink: I like mine at least 1/8" thick so cutting them with tin shears is out of the question.

You need a pan of water at the belt sander as that sucker does get hot & you will be dipping it often.
:thumbsup:

 

[Zonie]

Now that "grinding" was mentioned, grinding with a belt sander is fine and it works well.

Grinding with a bench grinders wheel is NOT fine though.

The grinding wheel on a bench grinder is made for grinding steel.
Grinding brass, bronze or aluminum will fill the grinding wheel with metal and more than once this has caused the wheel to explode.

Yes, explode is the right term.
One second the wheel is just fine and running at full speed and in an instant it can shatter into many pieces that can cause some severe damage to the person using it.

Like Birddog says, a sideplate needs to be made out of some fairly thick material.
1/32 or even 1/16 inch thick brass will work rather poorly.

 

[Birddog6]

Another thought.......... If you take your pattern to a hobby shop, they may have some brass strips close to the correct width & that may keep you from having to do allot of sawing.

:thumbsup:

 

[Melton Kidd]

You might try a jig saw. My scrolling jig saw cuts aluminum and mild steel very well when used with a metal cutting blade. I have never tried brass. The metal has to b e supported on both sides of the blade.

 

[ehoff]

A jig saw will work, take your brass sheet and drill and counter sink a hole in each corner. Now scew it fast to a scrap of plywood. Get a fine metal cutting blade for the saw. Put some masking tape on the foot of the saw so it won't scratch. Use a black marker to mark the pattern. Clamp the wood fast, and then with good light slowly saw the pattern out keeping on the outside of the line!

You can also use a wood cutting band saw to cut thin brass. Use the lowest speed the saw has and a metal cutting blade.

 

[Rolfkt]

I like to use a jeweler saw with a coarse no.3 blade when cutting brass or steel up to 1/8". The jewelers saw gives me the neatest cut. on thicker material I use a hack saw.

Best regards

Rolf

 

[joeboleo1]

Thanks guys for all the options. I do have a coping saw and a belt sander so I will start there and see how it goes. Appreciate the help.

 

[rootsy]

I find that if I spend the time using a jeweler's saw I'd be old and gray...

My preferred method of cutting sheet brass, say 1/8th thick is to rough it out on my band saw. A wood cutting bandsaw will handle non-ferrous (brass, copper, aluminum) materials with ease and it will cut fast so you have to be careful. A thin blade such as for general wood use, 1/4" deep, will let you follow curves. You can also side cut with it to hog out recesses while staying out side of the line.

I then use my oscillating spindle sander to refine the shape to the scribe line. Tight contours where the drum sander will not reach get refined with a file.

Then I draft the part by hand with a file.

Takes me bout half an hour to 45 minutes to trace, cut, sand and draft a side plate.

 

[NJStricker]

A method I've used for making knives in the past is a stock removal method if you don't have a metal-cutting bandsaw. Draw your pattern onto your flat stock, and using a 1/8 inch (or similar) drill bit, drill holes around the outline. Then you play connect-the-dots. It will cut down on the cutting time if you use a coping or hack saw. Otherwise, you can just punch through the excess with a small cold chisel and then file to final shape.

 

[joeboleo1]

Both of the above are good options too. I don't have access to a band saw now, but do have a small drill press........interesting. Thanks

 

[Birddog6]

If you are going to drill them & chisel cut in between, draw a scribe line above the pattern line, and use a centerpunch on the line to keep the holes drilled in the line, & thus not slip down into the pattern by a drill bit walking a tad.

Normally in such a piece, I would drill very small holes first, then go back over it with larger holes, then cut the metal in between.

You can also measure across it & scribe lines & make what looks like graph paper (little tiny squares), this way your holes almost touch but not quite, as if the holes touch the drill bit has a tendency to grab & snap off when using tiny bits.
:thumbsup:

 

[Vaino]

I don't use a jeweler's saw for Pbox parts or sideplates...rough it out w/ a hacksaw and then use various shaped rasps. The brass comes off very quickly down to w/in .01 of the line and then finer files are used. Tried the jeweler's saw a few times and it's quite a bit slower than outlined above. I guess a guy uses whatever he's comfortable with....Fred

 

[Stophel]

I got a metal cutting blade for my small bandsaw and OH, it is SO much nicer than cutting it out with a hacksaw!!!!