Brass covered steel

[Dougie SwanParticipant @dougieswan43463]

Hi

I had what I thought was a brass flat bar, 1/16 x 1/12″

I I cut a couple of pieces and tried to drill them, my drill went through the brass no problem then stopped, the steel? inside is hard as glass

Anybody any idea what is or for?

Dougie 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

If the steel is so hard how did you cut it?

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Cheaper form of busbar?

[martin haysomParticipant @martinhaysom48469]

i have a piece of round bar made the same way. don’t know its original use, i used part it to made a toilet lid hinge

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Not an electrical bus bar. Brass and steel have poor conductivity.
Likely something decorative or architectural.

Robert.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Round, flat and triangular common as ‘stair rails’. Before they invented the spiked strips you put under carpets at the inside edge of the stair tread there would be a bracket each side of the carpet and a rod between the two to hold the carpet into the corner. Wood for poor men if they actually had carpet, brass  covered steel for the more affluent.
I remember we had the clips but no bars when a child. At school the main staircase (teachers only) had big triangular bars about 1″ section with fancy ends and hinged brass clips to hold them, probably already 100 years old. Almost certainly still there 60 years later.

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Ah! it’s a question I can answer at last.

I think you will find that the inner is spring steel so it is fairly hard to drill. I bought the steel and the brass as separate items in 3 foot lengths and the selling feature was the fairly close fit making the pair telescopic.

My purchase was from a model shop, I think the intended usage was in short pieces as mortice and tenon joints to hold and align detachable wings on model aircraft.

I bought them on a ‘that will come in useful’ basis. The ‘will’ still applies (in my dreams!)

 

Ian P

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

My father used to describe brass-covered steel as “ironmonger’s brass”, particularly common with curtain rods.  It was just a cheap way of getting a brass finish.  Why Dougie’s example has a hard centre is beyond my powers of guesswork.

George

[egaParticipant @ega]

In similar vein, the early pre-war Austin Seven had a steel handbrake handle covered in brass sheet, the process being known as close brass plating.

[Dougie SwanParticipant @dougieswan43463]

Hi

Thanks for all the serious replies

I think Ian P hit it dead on, after stripping the brass it was indeed spring steel inside

As to its use I have no idea but the spring steel might come in useful

Thanks again

Dougie

 

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