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Does brass have a magnetic pull?

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    junksable started this thread.
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    Does brass have a magnetic pull?

    Good Morning: I found a brass urn type thing yesterday. It appears to be a solid piece. My question is does brass ever have a magnetic pull? This piece has a very slight pull to a magnet. I do beleive it is brass as the color and weight make sense, also it is stamped made in India which makes me believe it is. I have never had a piece that was slightly magnetic before. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you


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    Could be brass plating over slightly magnetic stainless steel.

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    Solid brass never has a magnetic pull. Even a slight pull suggests steel or cast iron plated in brass.

    Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, nothing magnetic in those two.

    If the item is in good condition though, you may want to do a little research of it on Google Images and/or eBay. You may have something that will be worth more than the metal it's made of.

    I've seen things that are in terrible shape or seem worthless sold for a good amount.


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    junksable started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by tscotte View Post
    Solid brass never has a magnetic pull. Even a slight pull suggests steel or cast iron plated in brass.

    Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, nothing magnetic in those two.

    If the item is in good condition though, you may want to do a little research of it on Google Images and/or eBay. You may have something that will be worth more than the metal it's made of.

    I've seen things that are in terrible shape or seem worthless sold for a good amount.

    Thank you. I was planning on keeping it anyway. I always keep the brass(or maybe brass coated in this case) things I find that are in good shape. This piece is in perfect condition. A shame someone just discarded it.

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    I found a "copper" bucket once, it was already smashed an tore before I got it so not save able. It was however unusually hard to bend for copper hit it with the grinder, it was copper plated stainless completely non magnetic. Find a spot you don't care about and hit with a file.

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    Brass also contains lead, but again, it's non magnetic. Put an inconspicuious spot to the grinder wheel and see what you have on the inside.

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    junksable started this thread.
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    I took a look at the piece closer. Turns out, i was wrong. It is not a solid piece. You can detatch the base from the top. A small screw holds the two pieces together. This is what was causing the attraction to the magnet. the rest is definetly brass. Anyway, a nice piece to add to my "collection". Thank you for all the replies.

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    Some brass can hold rare earth magnet to them, some bras can have weak magnetic property

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    Quote Originally Posted by t00nces2 View Post
    Some brass can hold rare earth magnet to them, some bras can have weak magnetic property
    Yes some bras are attractive!

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    Quote Originally Posted by t00nces2 View Post
    some bras can have weak magnetic property
    That is uplifting to know

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    Specially if they are the wired type

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    Quote Originally Posted by hobo finds View Post
    Yes some bras are attractive!
    Sorry. My bad. I meant to say "bars."

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  23. #13
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    "Yellow brass" is non magnetic, "Red brass", bronze and ships wheels are slightly magnetic and usually bring more money.

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    Yes there is a magnetic brass it's alum. bronze. Has a very light pull from your magnet, I'll get some pic's of some alum bronze and post later

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    There are many brass alloys, with some having magnetic "properties". A magnet when moved around a brass or alloy of, can create small magnetic fields around that object. These small fields (eddy currents), are the magnetic properties causing the brass to attract to magnets. This is called the "Lenz Effect" with aluminum brass there will be more effect with a magnet and the stronger the magnet you will have stronger eddy currents.

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    A friend showed me something I thought was neat. Take a piece op copper tubing a few feet long find a strong magnet that will fit inside and not get stuck, drop the magnet through the pipe. It will fall S L O W L Y down and out the other end, haven't tried it with brass yet.

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    I ran across slightly magnetic brass a couple times. I cut it and hit it with a hammer to see if it acted like brass, them took it to the yard with a confused look.

    The non ferrous manager called it marine brass. it was worth more than regular
    Currently looking for a job in or related to scrap/recycling. Relocation is possible for the right offer.

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  32. #18
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    Some 'Curtain rods' and the tubing thats in closets and wardrobes is actually Steel strip thats been rolled into a tube.
    Just before the final roll, they add a strip of thin Brass shim to the outside of the nearly rolled tube and then roll it all into a tube.
    The edges of the Brass shim are caught in the thin, now closed, gap.

    You end up with a Steel tube with a seam in it, and its wrapped with a thin layer of Brass.

    "Looks like Brass, feels like Brass, scratches like Brass does, but its Magnetic-- Brass ? ! "

    I got caught out last week with a peice of it. Dammit. Oh well, I need another peice of tube for a wardrobe anyway... Better than scrap.!
    Last edited by eesakiwi; 08-27-2015 at 05:27 AM.

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    never say never i got some brass new 1/2 '' ts and elbows and a few they had a mag. pull ,strong mag and if you every get a xrf gun and shoot the brass you would be surprise we had a demo done every peace had four or more elements just saying

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    Manganese Bronze has up to 4% Fe and will attract a magnet slightly, the most likely place to find it is boat propellers (screws), and "brass" gears, it is extremely wear resistant so any application with lots of friction is likely to Be Manganese Bronze. It is worth a little more them Yellow Brass if you can find the right buyer, most don't bother so don't be begging at the yard

    V/r HT1

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