Stringray clone from AttackofTheClones.co.uk

[Famine]

nice to see positive reports on this...maybe someone can put together a little help guide for people, admittedly like me, who may not immediately know what to look for when it comes to brass etc? just a thought

On the whole brass is not magnetic, so if a magnet doesn't stick to it then there is a good chance it is solid brass.

It is not fool proof, for example, there are some brass alloy mixes that are slightly magnetic but it is a good place to start.

 

[matt-lmr]

On the whole brass is not magnetic, so if a magnet doesn't stick to it then there is a good chance it is solid brass.

It is not fool proof, for example, there are some brass alloy mixes that are slightly magnetic but it is a good place to start.

It's not as simple as that as most brass plated mods are still made from solid brass but are then copper plated then nickel plated then either brass plated or a very cheap thin 9ct gold plate, the only way to find out if it is plated is to wipe it with either a cape cod cloth or an abrasive metal cleaner, both of these options will quickly remove the brass/gold plate to reveal the nickel plate.
I was speaking to one supplier about this and this is a snippet of the conversation we were having-(excuse the Chinese translation)

"I know your meaning now. In fact,our original brass products is made of brass material. But the electroplated products tend to be easier accepted as it looks more beautiful. As to the copper mod, you know, the copper material are easy to oxidize. To some degree,the electroplate products can avoid this problem. So the electroplate products begin to be our regular products. Namely the most of customers need the regular products(electroplate goods)"

Hope this helps people
peace Matt

 

[Famine]

It is that simple. If a magnet doesn't stick to it then it is solid brass.

If it is nickel plated a magnet will stick to it because nickel is magnetic even with a brass plating over it.

A magnet will be weakly attracted to even a very small amounts of magnetic material.

I wasn't saying that certain kinds of brass are not magnetic I was saying that solid brass (the kind without any kind of magnetic plating whatsoever) is not magnetic.

 

[matt-lmr]

Again not that simple, it should be but not, as some brass produced in mass in china as iron filling to reduce cost only a tiny amount but is enough to give some "solid brass parts a slight attraction to magnets.
That is why the only real what to see what is what is to try to remove a plated surface.

 

[Famine]

Again not that simple, it should be but not, as some brass produced in mass in china as iron filling to reduce cost only a tiny amount but is enough to give some "solid brass parts a slight attraction to magnets.
That is why the only real what to see what is what is to try to remove a plated surface.

Haha, yes I know. That is why I mentioned that in my first post and in the reply to your post contradicting me. I thought it was clear what I meant so this is a bit embarrassing.

On the whole brass is not magnetic, so if a magnet doesn't stick to it then there is a good chance it is solid brass.It is not fool proof, for example, there are some brass alloy mixes that are slightly magnetic but it is a good place to start.

Basically there is a simple test you can do before you have to put in all that effort. You said it would not prove some thing was solid brass. You were wrong. Now you are saying that something can be brass and still be magnetic and I agree with you, I always did. I said it was a starting point that could save a bit of time and effort. Nothing more.

 

[matt-lmr]

Hi ok well lets sum it up for people-
Solid pure brass (copper and zinc alloy) is not at all magnetic but expensive as a metal.
Solid brass mass produced will have some iron added to reduce cost this will be slightly magnetic.
Brass plated items will also be slightly magnetic.

The easiest way to tell if the difference between solid brass with some iron content and brass plate is to wipe it with a cape cod cloth or abrasive metal cleaner this process will very quickly remove the brass plate if it is brass plated.

Peace Matt.

 

[Famine]

Yeah, that is fair enough. If, like you said, some mass produced brass coming out of China has a small trace of iron filings (and I have no reason to doubt it).

 

[vaporsizer]

So far, as an electrical eng. I have yet to see a masterpiece switch, clone or original without the owner having to dick about with it.
(mech. mod that is)

My Biomech gen2. Zero issues with the original stock spring installed. I take it apart to wash it, i reassemble it & pinch the contact up with some pliers & that's it, no dicking about.

 

[sparkyjuice]

My Biomech gen2. Zero issues with the original stock spring installed. I take it apart to wash it, i reassemble it & pinch the contact up with some pliers & that's it, no dicking about.

Then I stand corrected, no familiarity with biomech tho' I have panzer....is it similar ?
bottom firing mods need to have pin contact battery at same time as button contacts body
or wasting energy.

 

[vaporsizer]

Then I stand corrected, no familiarity with biomech tho' I have panzer....is it similar ?
bottom firing mods need to have pin contact battery at same time as button contacts body
or wasting energy.

Yep, if it's a real panzer it's similar, a simple set up. Chunk of copper moves up & down a couple of mm past the o ring & wallop. It's a pleasure to use. When i first got it the button was slightly proud of the locking ring when it was in the unlocked position & it fired when i put it down on a flat surface but i just left it alone & for whatever reason it's fine now.
On the one hand, mech's by nature need some kind of intervention & for that part i accept it but on the other hand, if they're as finely engineered as this beasty, there's very little to gripe about. So impressed i am that i have an older version of it on order... See pic below.