Annealing Brass

[ptk1126]

I have had to do a lot of shaping and re-shaping of a brass patchbox.

After annealing, does brass harden or become brittle as it is re-worked ?

Should the brass be annealed periodically during the shaping process ?

Is there a limit to how often brass should be annealed ?

Thanks
Paul

[David R. Pennington]

When you notice it begins to work harden anneal it again. You should anneal as often as it takes. The temptation is to work it too much after it begins to harden and then it will crack. Just be sure not to overheat it and you should be ok.

[E.vonAschwege]

I've never found any limit to the amount of times you can anneal and work a piece of brass - some of the formed sheet brass buttcaps I've seen on originals have been worked quite heavily.  Brass will age harden with time, which can't be annealed in my experiences, but with that exception you should be able to work the brass almost indefinitely.  The moment you start feeling it get hard or springy again, anneal it.  It's that "one last bend" that will crack it.  For shaping the long bends in a brass patchbox, I use a concave maple form that the brass can be pressed into with a vise. 
-Eric

[bama]

Good soft yellow brass can be annealed almost indefinitely. Sheet brass should be the same, i usually soot the brass with a candle then heat with a torch until the soot is burned off and dunk the piece into water. This will make sheet brass very soft. When you work sheet brass and feel it get springy or start to ring when you file it then it has work hardened.

[Rolf]

When making these butt caps, I annealed the brass over 60 times. Probably more than 100 time.
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=32410.0

Best regards
Rolf