My latest efforts in (from top to bottom) cherry, zebrawood, and cocobolo
I had an epiphany about the mouthpieces tonight, and it was repeatable, so I’m totally stoked about that.
I have a question to anyone who’s worked with brass tubing. All of the tubing I’ve ever bought has these dark streaks in it. It really shows up on photos, even when it isn’t as noticeable by the human eye. here’s a pic.
Does anyone know how to get rid of those?
[quote="Wanderer"Does anyone know how to get rid of those?[/quote]
They look real nice. Spin the tubing with wet dry emery paper 400 grit or higher. Use it wet.
I got 1200 grit waterproof sandpaper at the local woodworking store and it works great! Puts a nice satin finish on the brass. Thanks!
Follow that up with 4-0 steel wool. If you really want a shine, you can use jeweler’s rouge on a cloth. Gonna get dull again anyway though..
Thanks, Paul!
I’m not sure which way I’m going to go yet. Really shiny is nice, but as you say, will get dull again anyway. On the other hand, the satin finish looks good too, and tends to hide fingerprints 
When I was making pens, half a decade ago, there was a type of hard wax that would go over the wood while on the lathe. I wonder if there’s a similar agent that can be put on over newly shined brass to retain the shine?
After you get a nice shine on brass, it can be kept clean and shiney with toothpaste. It is an abrasive. No after smell like brasso, and it fights decay.
New! High D whistles, with added fluoride and tartar control!
! Four out of five dentists recommend them for their patients who chew whistles!
And thanks for the tip, tommy! I hate that Brasso smell & greasy feel.
Most Brass tubing is from recycled scrap and the difference in phosphorus content causes streaks when they roll it out.
Have you considered application of Gold or Silver Leaf ,burnished and followed by a clearcoat?
Hmm..I hadn’t thought about it. I’m afraid that something like that might eventually wear through, though…
You mean my home-tweaked Gen could actually be from a bed that Geoge Washington slept in, or a spitoon that Ma Barker spat into? 