Nearly a million tons of brass make their way throughout the country – and the world – every year. Thanks to it versatile nature, brass is an ideal option in many residential and commercial applications – some for embellishments you will see, others you may never realize exist.
This alloy has some strong characteristics that make it a great metal choice for everything from jewelry to plumbing.
Let’s take a closer look.
All About Brass
When you understand a little about brass, you can understand why there are certain everyday items made of brass – and then those made of other metals. Brass is an alloy made of copper and zinc, with copper typically making up more than half of its composition. As a result, brass tends to have the following properties:
- Malleable. Brass contains a high amount of the very malleable metal, copper. This makes brass very easy to work with in many different ways.
- Conductive. Brass is a very good conductor of both electricity and heat, maintaining the ability to transfer electricity at high voltage without causing overheating.
- Resistant to corrosion. Corrosion can greatly impact the ways in which a metal is used. But because brass is resistant to corrosion, it can be used effectively against oxidation from plain water, salt water, and other liquids.
- High fatigue tolerance. Many metals can weaken with repetitive use, but brass has a high tolerance level and can maintain its strength.
Everyday Items Made of Brass
Brass can be found everywhere, with some applications more recognizable than others, including:
Hardware, Decorative or Otherwise
Hardware pieces that are used throughout the home or office, such as door knobs, drawer knobs and pulls, hooks, railings, and so forth often contain brass. In addition to its normal traits, one of the reasons brass is so widely used for hardware is due to the fact that it is antimicrobial. This means that frequently touched brass surfaces aren’t passing on germs to the next person.
Furniture and Light Fixtures
It is not uncommon to find brass bed frames, table legs, chairs, accent lighting, and various other light fixtures of different design styles.
Plumbing
Brass can be found in plumbing systems, such as hose bibs, pipes, valves, fittings, and channel drains, thanks to their ability to resist corrosion. For the same reason, they are commonly used as faucet fixtures, bidets, and sinks, too.
Component Parts
Brass plays a large role as the small component parts of larger items. In the form of nails, screws, bushings, hinges, and more, these brass parts can be used in construction, furniture, car parts, and so forth.
Musical Instruments
In any band, you have woodwinds and you have brass. Cymbals and bells are made of brass, as are trumpets, tubas, french horns, trombones, baritones, and others. Believe it or not, brass produces a great sound that works well with these instruments – in addition to its other properties listed above.
Marine Hardware
Not many metals can withstand the harsh corrosive conditions of saltwater, but brass can. And that is one of the reasons it has found its way into so many marine applications, such as pumps, engines, and navigational tools.
Atlas Bronze is a leading distributor and supplier of Bronze, Copper, Brass and Iron products. They supply brass bronze from their warehouse located in Trenton, New Jersey and a few other depots throughout the country.