Ok guys and gals here is my attempt at a "how to" for those of you who wanted to see how I do some these window trim pieces. 1. I first start off with some 1/4"X1/2" brass from the local metal supply. it is sold by the pound so 3 -12' sticks run about $140 2. The next step is your tools. I use a 7" disc sander with 80-120 grit paper to give it a ruff shape, a few different sizes and SHARP bastard files. And last but not least you need an oxy/act set up to bend and weld these things up unless you have a tig. 3. The fun part begins, you want to have a work bench (long ones are nice) you can clamp the brass to on the edge, i use some little flat plates and C-clamps or vise grips to get the job done and then start shaping. be careful not to take to much off. the trim shape is usually thinner at the top and fat on the bottom with a small radius. ill start to ruff it to shape not worrying about the smoothness of it or it sharp edges, the file will take car of that. once you get one side ruffed take your SHARP file and start blocking the brass to get it nice and perfect to the shape you want. than flip the brass around and repeat the the step.
4. Next is to make a damn near perfect template of the window opening. once this done i trace the template with a magic marker to piece of 3/8" plate that i have on a cart. 5. Next you want to measure the distance around your template to get a ruff estimate on where to cut your brass. 6. Next i like to clamp the brass to the plate matching the baseline of your template and pick a spot where you want the seam to be, not to close to the radius's.
7. Next light your torch up and start bending. you want to be careful with this process brass is fine one minute the next its golden blob... when doing the tight corners the brass has to be CHERRY RED or it will fracture in half and that is when you start yelling obscenities! work your metal about 1/4" at a time on the tight stuff heating it red, bending, let that spot cool a little for a few seconds then move over and repeat the step until you have your bend. the brass will tend to "curl" some when you bend it but dont finish your bend first. 8. next after the brass lines up with your next line clamp it down and heat the newly bent corner and flatten it out by squeezing it with the clamp and the holding plate. the clamps by themselves will dent the brass so be careful.
9. Next reposition your clamps like in the last picture and continue your bends. 10. Next on the larger curve i will heat the brass every 1/2"- 3/4" depending on the curve, letting the metal cool a little before the next little bend. don't forget to move your clamps along unless you have enough to hold every side down to make sure you stay accurate to your line. 11. Once you have all your bends done, and corners "decurled" test fit the piece to the car to see where you need to make adjustments, and do those first before you cut off the extra length. once you do that you can weld the ends together, making sure the pieces are straight and inline with each other and smooth the weld
12. After your welding is done take your file and smooth out any imperfections you might have put in the brass in the process. i will then take 80 grit and hand sand the trim to get the file scratches out and smooth with 150 or so. 13. Once that is all done i use very small machine screws to mount the trim. i will clamp the trim in place and drill small pilot holes through the window flange and will start to drill the brass. once the holes are marked on the brass i will take it off and drill it on the table with a DEPTH GUIDE on the drill bit so you don't drill through the other side i believe the tap size is a 8-40? i made my tap end a little blunt on the end to get a few more threads in the brass. 14. once you finished doing your tapping counter sink you holes in the window flange so the screws will be flush and..... WALLAH!! you now have one trim piece that looks great and you then realized you have to do three more and have them plated and pray the chromer wont screw them up!! well i hope this answered some questions and you can make other creative stuff the same way. if i left a step out ( which i probably did) feel free to PM me and ill try to answer your questions matt
Nicely done.Brass chrome plates easy and with acid copper any little imperfections clean up easy. Ive used strips, straight pieces, that are formed brass with the backside filled with lead. You can heat a stud with a torch and set them in the lead for mounting.Good for side trim, running board strips, etc.
"3 -12' sticks run about $140" That's 36 FEET, not 36 inches! Although materials aren't gettin any cheaper. vic
Great post! Anything special that has to be done to TIG brass? I'm assuming you just use brass rod for filler right? Pardon my ignorance on this but the only thing I ever Tig'ed was steel.
I have been waiting for this one....I like your method better than mine, except the trip to the chrome shop. It sucks to have to rely on the chrome shops work schedule and crazy pricing when building your car. Nice work. Is this your Merc? -Abone.
i use silicone bronze rod to do the job with a tig. tried to finish up the last one today for the merc since the power was out at the shop, then to my luck my oxygen tank went empty!! unfortunately Flamedabone its not my merc. i would just be happy to get mine on the road soon. anybody want to do a quick photo shop with some wide whites and slammed to help get my priorities strait??
nice work! as soft as brass is could you use a router table setup to get your shape before you bend the brass? seems like a nice even way to make the radius on the edges.
Cool post. Thanks for documenting it! What does the cross-section of the strip look like when you're done profiling it? D-shaped, or half round, or quarter round, or ?
thanks for taking the time to show us. and thanks for NOT waiting for tech week. this is something i will definitely use in the future. awesome thread.
the profile is usually "D" shaped but an awkward D at that. a little thinner on the top and fatter on the bottom.
awesome tech...thanks! do you ever make a metal or wooden form to use when heating and bending the brass? just curious...
i use to use a wooden form but it takes longer to make a template and is not as accurate. when the brass gets hot it burns into the wood. you could make some steel templates, but tracing the line i have found is the easiest and fastest way to do it
After they're chromed,i'm sure they are more durable than the stock stainless. I mean,as far as getting dinged,since they are solid.
The Jalopy Journal
