Chickering brass flanges

[Tom Cole]

Wim Blees wrote:

... I just don't want to have them spend 
$12000 only to have the hammer flanges crap out on them in a couple of
years. 
Therefore, I wonder if this treatment is long lasting, or as Paul said, 
doesn't really have any effect at all.   

Wim,

Judging by the experiments I did a while back with brass rails in an old
Kimball upright (circa 1900), heat treating is an effective means of
rejuvenating brass which has been work hardened through use, age,
bending, the stamping process or whatever. If you heat the brass in a
gas flame until it starts to glow a dull reddish color, it is then
annealed, even if you quench with water (unlike steel). Should last
another hundred years.

Thanks to Jim for the idea of silver soldering the cracked ones. Sounds
good but I'd be curious to know if the solder wicks into the cracks or
just bridges the gap (maybe that's all that's needed?).

Tom Cole