Brass prop edging

[drrivah]

Do any metalworkers out there have experience with 260 alloy brass for sheathing/edging WW1-era wood propellers-how easily is 260, 24G/ 0.025" thick brass to work, solder/ braze as a prop edge? What are the best, most economical commercial suppliers of 24G alloy\260 brass sheets? I've see ~ 1' x 2', 24G (or 0.020) for ~ 35.00/sheet. Is this about right pricewise?

-pete

[Machinbird]

Pete,
A few years ago I tried spinning cartridge brass to make anemometer cups.
Annealing the brass was crucial. Cartridge Brass (260) is annealed by heating it to between dark blue color and a dull red glow and then quenching it in cool water. Forming brass work hardens it. You can selectively pick areas of the piece to anneal so that you do not soften the whole thing. Brass that has been rolled into sheet has significant work hardening and may be very springy and will crack if bent too sharply. Once annealed, it is very compliant, but as you work it, it will begin to harden. You can choose how much you anneal it by the color you heat it to.
Sid

[drrivah]

Sid:
Sounds like brass prop edge/tip sheathing would involve cutting front and back plates and brazing or soldering the edge rather than folding over and hammering to shape. See Nick's Avro edge/tip in Post #426 of the Snipe thread. His edge looks too regular to be brazed or soldered, but may just be a highly skilled welder/brazer.

Thanks.

-pete

[tengew]

you can make a set of dummy tips with the same profile of your prop
make them from a hard wood and hammer the tips on them they should slid on your real prop from there