What kind of metal. Odd material.

[dfariswheel]

I needed a small piece of brass for a project so I was digging through my Hell Box.
(A Hell Box is what tradesmen and repairmen toss odd left over nuts, bolts, brass and copper fittings, etc. When you need an odd piece, you may find it in your Hell Box. It's called a Hell Box because it's Hell to find anything in the mess of loose parts).

In any case, I pulled out some small round stud-like pieces about 3/8" in diameter.
I remembered these had come out of the legs of an adjustable shower chair like older people use. These were the studs that locked the adjustable legs in place by snapping into the holes.

When I tried to file it, the file slid instead of cutting.
These are brass colored, and HARD as good steel. However, I filed one down as much as possible, even though the file wanted to slide instead of cutting, as though it was hardened steel.
It's brass colored down deep into the metal.

Thing is, it's WAY to hard to be brass. I tried soften it like brass is by heating to bright red and quenching in water.
It stayed hard.
If this was brass it would have softened.
It's definitely brass colored to a deep depth.

What kind of metal might this brass colored metal be??

[NAPOTS]

Do you think it could be a stainless steel. Being a bolt it would probably be austenitic i.e, 300 series. If I was designing threaded leveling feet for use in a shower is probably start with that. Straw color can be discoloration from heat but I think that is a surface interaction only so it shouldn't go thorough. Could it be some other less common alloy like inconel?

[dfariswheel]

Nope, it's brass colored much farther down then the normal surface colors of heat treating.

[Hatedbysheeple]

copper beryllium? We have a fair amount of tools made from it to include shovels, knives, and wrenches. It is copper to brass colored, but it is extremely toxic inside your system, due to the beryllium.

[NAPOTS]

Could it be monel? Its a nickel copper alloy, I have never used it but i think it has a yellow tinge to it. It is corrosion resistant so it makes sense to use it for screws in a shower chair. you can get screws and threaded rod in it commercially available.

[Sherman]

Bronze. I used to rebuild Indeco demolition hammers/breakers. They had a bushing in the lower housing that the tool would sacrifice instead of the hammer case itself. Extremely hard stuff. I would use a air hammer, various high speed cutting tools and tons of determination and effort to cut and chip the bushing out. Looks exactly like brass but a lot harder.

[l921428x]

Bronze

[dfariswheel]

Unsure what it is.
I'll save some for the next time a guy I know who's knowledgeable about metals shows up.

[rci2950]

probably ampco 18

[Krupski]

I needed a small piece of brass for a project so I was digging through my Hell Box.
(A Hell Box is what tradesmen and repairmen toss odd left over nuts, bolts, brass and copper fittings, etc. When you need an odd piece, you may find it in your Hell Box. It's called a Hell Box because it's Hell to find anything in the mess of loose parts).

It's also called a Hell Box because the formula for parts is N-1. That is, if you (N)eed 4 nuts, you will only be able to find N-1=3 nuts.

Or worse, you will find 4 nuts, but one of them will be stripped.

Ever notice that AFTER the project is finished you suddenly can find DOZENS of the part you couldn't find before?

[Krupski]

Do you think it could be a stainless steel. Being a bolt it would probably be austenitic i.e, 300 series. If I was designing threaded leveling feet for use in a shower is probably start with that. Straw color can be discoloration from heat but I think that is a surface interaction only so it shouldn't go thorough. Could it be some other less common alloy like inconel?

Inconel? For a bathtub foot?


And the X-15 research plane was made from galvanized sheet metal!

[NAPOTS]

Inconel? For a bathtub foot?


And the X-15 research plane was made from galvanized sheet metal!

well like I said, if I was designing it, and I do design things for moderately corrosive environments, I would go with A4-80 threaded fasteners for the legs which is pretty close to 316 stainless and be done with it.

I was trying to think of things that would be harder than hell, straw colored, and suitable for use in a shower. I could see someone being cheap (China) and chrome plating garbage metal but that wouldn't be a long term solution and would be obvious when you cut into it also once you got through the chrome with a file, which would probably just flake off, the metal underneath would be softer than shit.

[Phil125]

(A Hell Box is what tradesmen and repairmen toss odd left over nuts, bolts, brass and copper fittings, etc. When you need an odd piece, you may find it in your Hell Box. It's called a Hell Box because it's Hell to find anything in the mess of loose parts).

When my father died I inherited his tools and with that came two beat up toolboxes full of ever odd bolt, screw, hinge, washer, and nail he collected over the decades. I never knew it had a name. Every time I open them it smells like his workbench. Suddenly I time warp back 30 years and I'm watching him work. I cherish those toolboxes and every part in them.

[l921428x]

Yeah I know what you mean. I received a hell box and went through it to remove old sawdust, lint and other non tool
debris. Must have found 50 bent nails and was asked by a youngster "who keeps bent nails?" and I warped back in time
to when we straightened nails because we could not afford spares. He was amused when I told him this.

[Krupski]

well like I said, if I was designing it, and I do design things for moderately corrosive environments, I would go with A4-80 threaded fasteners for the legs which is pretty close to 316 stainless and be done with it.

How about a gold/nickel alloy? Much easier to machine than Inconel and corrosion resistant too!

[rci2950]

The brass nipples for your muzzle loader are Ampco 18. It is a very hard alloy that is gold colour.