Best way to reduce a piece of 1/8″thk brass sheet to 3/32″ thk.

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

I found myself in need of a small piece of 3/32" thk brass sheet to complete a job and having a stock of 1/8" sheet but no 1/32 decided to have a go at reducing a piece to size. First attempt was using soft soldering on to a 1.5" dia mandrel and turning down in the lathe which was perfectly satisfactory but involved a lot of heat. This got me thinking into alternative ways of gripping the sheet stock e.g. double sided tape, shellac, Superglue or even one of the more modern adhesives such as the so called "Gorilla" brand glue, all of which it would seem to me to risks movement under the cutting forces involved. Are there any other methods or glues out there which might be more successful?

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

I'm a bit confused re having 1/8 stock but no 1/32 – not sure I see the relevance. As to how to hold 1/8 sheet to reduce to 3/32 must depend on how much you have and how much you need. Can you not just bolt/screw some to a backing piece (MDF?) by it’s edge and thin out enough from the centre for the requirement?

pgk

[BazParticipant @baz89810]

Solder or shellac for me, double sided tape ok but may move under an intermittent or heavy cut. Don’t know about glues, if they work well you may damage the job when trying to break the glue joint, at least with solder you heat it up to put it on and heat it up to get it off.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Superglue.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

In his videos Stefan Gotteswinter show using superglue as already suggested on a small faceplate or end of a mandrel as you said but with grooves cut into it.

I would avoid double sided tape as some will creep. Some other glues you may find difficult to remove I have in the past used hot melt glue on woodturning but this could not allow your piece to sit flat against you chosen support

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I have heard of success with superglue provided both surfaces are very well degreased first and are flat and not too polished. Heat is then used to break down the bond. Very sharp tools and fine cuts will lower the chance of premature separation.

I would use pgk pgk's method if there was enough spare sheet.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Superglue every time

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by KWIL on 06/04/2022 16:36:56:

Superglue every time

+1 Shellac has slow setting advantages when work has to be positioned accurately but superglue has stronger grip. I often use it for this sort of work. If the mandrel and brass are both clean the brass won't come off under moderate cutting forces.

I've used superglue to create a double headed penny by shaving two old coins down. They're made of Bronze, which is tougher than Brass, no problem.

To release the brass, boil in water. Slightly hotter than 100°C destroys the bond more effectively, so you might prefer to heat gently with a blowlamp. Any residual glue cleans off with Acetone or Nail Varnish remover.

Dave

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

Yep, just for the record, I have repeated the exercise using Superglue and taking cuts of no more than 0.005" achieved success. It will be Superglue for me every time now, much more convenient that using soft solder Thanks for all who contributed.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

I would have done it on the CNC mill. Usual procedure for me is to put blue masking tape on each surface then superglue them together – the tape makes it easier to remove and takes the glue with it. However it might be more secure to glue metal to metal. A good tip to separate them is to boil in water for a few minutes.

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