Brass Cutting

[SamSlam023]

I am planning on making some gears out of brass for my school project.

I have found a place that sells plate brass 260.

I plant on buying ~9mm thick slab of brass to make gears that are about 100mm and 50mm in diameter.

Would I be able to cut gears out of this brass with a CNC machine? Or should I use something else such as a Band Saw?

Would I also need to protect the brass from corrosion somehow?

This is the stuff I am getting:

http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=1601&step=4&showunits=inches&id=1116&top_cat=79

http://www.onlinemetals.com/brassguide.cfm



Thanks

 

[mmerlinn]

Use a CNC if available.

Corrosion is a non-issue with brass gears.

 

[SamSlam023]

Sorry I meant Tarnishing not Corrosion.

 

[mmerlinn]

Tarnishing is also a non-issue unless eye-candy appeal is important. Even at that, under most conditions, it takes months for brass to tarnish to any degree.

 

[DCFusor]

You might want to look up something along the lines of "gear hobbing". People who make a few gears have special tools to get the tooth profile right, and it's important for a lot of cases. 260 alloy brass is fairly tarnish resistant and easy to cut. A light oil keeps it pretty. Good stuff to learn on.