Brass is chosen for three things steel cannot give in one part: it conducts, it does not rust and it does not spark. It is also softer and weaker than steel, which is why brass fasteners are sized for the joint and never for a strength class. The catalogue stocks the common screws, nuts, washers and standoffs to about M16; a brass part above that, in a fine pitch, or with a plated and polished finish is turned from bar.
EKINSUN LTD is a custom parts manufacturer that turns brass fasteners to drawing: hex nuts and bolts above M16, standoffs longer than stock, fine or inch threads, knurled and polished decorative parts, nickel, tin or chrome plated. The stock table below is read from a 2026 catalogue; the alloy table explains the two brasses buyers ask for and why they are not the same; the negative-space table marks the border.
"Brass hex nuts M20 x 1.5 for a busbar clamp, forty of them, plain. Stock brass nuts stop at M16 coarse."
Size and pitch: the two conditions most brass enquiries fall on.
| Family | Stock range | Stock finish | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hex head screws | M3–M16 | plain; nickel | DIN 933 form |
| Phillips pan and countersunk machine screws | M2–M8 pan; M2–M12 countersunk | plain; nickel | ISO 7045 / 7046 forms |
| Socket cap, button and countersunk socket screws | M3–M12; M2–M3 knurled head | plain | ISO 4762 / 7380 / 10642 forms |
| Self-tapping screws | M2–M8 | plain | pan and countersunk |
| Set screws, cup and cone point | M2–M10; M3–M6 | plain | electrical terminals |
| Hex nuts | M1.4–M16 | plain; nickel | DIN 934 form |
| Wing nuts | M4–M20 | plain | cast form |
| Cap nuts | M3–M20 | plain; nickel or chrome to order | DIN 1587 form |
| Flange nuts, nyloc nuts, knob nuts | M3–M12; M4–M12; M4–M10 | plain | — |
| Heat-set and press-in inserts | M1–M10; 1/4 in | plain | see inserts for plastics |
| Hex standoffs, male-female and female-female | M2–M8; lengths to 100 mm; 4-40 series | plain; nickel | see custom standoffs |
| Flat washers | M2–M33 | plain | — |
| Copper flat and sealing washers | M5–M36 | plain | annealed copper |
| Phosphor bronze spring washers | M2.5–M20 | plain | non-magnetic spring washers |
| Silver-plated solder tags | Ø2.2–Ø10.2 | silver | earth and terminal tags |
| Threaded rod | M3–M20 | plain | busbars, lamps, instruments |
| Eyelet (tubular) rivets, solid rivets | M0.9–M6; Ø1.5–Ø8 | plain | see rivets |
| Binding posts, Chicago screws, book screws | Ø4–Ø5; Ø5 × 3–100 mm | plain; nickel | — |
| Grease nipples, straight, 45°, 90° | M6–M16 | plain | — |
| Spot-weld studs | M2.5–M3 | nickel | electrical |
| Alloy | Designation | Copper | What it is | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-machining brass (Europe) | CW614N / 2.0401, CuZn39Pb3; BS CZ121 | 57–59 % | the leaded brass European stockists hold as bar | turned nuts, standoffs, inserts, custom parts |
| Free-machining brass (US) | C36000 / CW603N, CuZn36Pb3; BS CZ124 | 60–63 % | the US free-cutting brass; often cross-referenced to CW614N although the copper range does not overlap | the same parts when a US spec is on the drawing |
| Cold-heading brass | CuZn37 / CW508L | 62–64 % | lead-free, ductile | stock cold-headed screws and rivets |
| Phosphor bronze | CuSn6 / CW452K | — | a spring bronze | spring washers, contact springs |
| Copper | Cu-ETP / CW004A | — | annealed | sealing washers, solid rivets |
CW614N and C36000 are both free-machining brasses and either is right for a turned part; they are listed separately because their copper ranges differ and a drawing that names one should get that one.
What brass is for: current-carrying parts, marine and outdoor hardware away from load, decorative and instrument work, and anywhere a spark or a magnet must be avoided. What it is not for: preloaded structural joints. A brass bolt has no strength class; when a joint needs one, the part is stainless or steel and brass is the washer or the standoff beside it.
Read the pitch before you order the brass nut. Lay a steel rule along ten thread crests and divide by ten: 10 mm over ten pitches is a 1 mm pitch (M6 coarse), 12.5 mm is M8 coarse, 15 mm is M10 coarse, 17.5 mm is M12 coarse. A reading that is not a round number of millimetres is an inch thread, and a reading that is shorter than the coarse pitch for that diameter is a fine thread. If diameter, pitch and the size range in the table all agree, buy the stock part. If any of the three is off the shelf, that is the one we make. The full measuring routine, including the inch traps →
| What you need | In the catalogue? | What we make |
|---|---|---|
| Brass hex screws M3–M16, machine screws M2–M12, hex nuts M1.4–M16, washers M2–M33, standoffs M2–M8, coarse pitch, plain | Yes | Buy it from stock. No one-off competes with a cold-headed brass screw or a pressed brass washer. |
| Brass cap nuts M3–M20, wing nuts M4–M20, threaded rod M3–M20 | Yes | Stocked; buy it. |
| Brass nuts and bolts above M16, or any brass part in a fine, left-hand or inch thread | No | Turned from CW614N or C36000 bar to your reading, from 1 piece. |
| Brass standoffs longer than 100 mm, or in an odd across-flats or thread combination | No | Turned to length; hex to your across-flats. |
| A polished, nickel, chrome, tin or gold-plated brass part in a size the stock does not carry | No | Turned and finished; plating per batch. |
| A brass part with a knurl, a flat, a cross-hole or a shoulder | No | Machined on the turned part. |
| Copper, phosphor bronze or naval brass instead of CW614N | No | Same geometry, the alloy the drawing names. |
| A brass fastener for a preloaded structural joint | No | Not offered: brass has no strength class; we quote the part in A2 / A4 or 42CrMo4 and brass only for the washer or standoff, and say why. |
| Material | Designation | Where it fits here |
|---|---|---|
| Free-machining brass | CW614N (CuZn39Pb3) / C36000 | turned brass fasteners and custom parts |
| Cold-heading brass | CuZn37 / CW508L | stock screws and rivets |
| Phosphor bronze | CuSn6 | spring washers, contact parts |
| Copper | Cu-ETP | sealing washers, solid rivets, busbar parts |
| Stainless 304 | 1.4301 / A2 | the load-bearing partner of a brass fitting |
| Stainless 316L | 1.4404 / A4 | marine hardware beside brass |
| Aluminium 6061 | AlMg1SiCu | the housing a brass insert or standoff goes into |
| Aluminium 7075 | AlZn5.5MgCu | machined light parts fitted with brass inserts |
Both are free-machining leaded brasses, but CW614N (CuZn39Pb3) has 57–59 % copper and C36000 (CuZn36Pb3) has 60–63 %, so they are not the same alloy even though catalogues cross-reference them. For a turned fastener either performs the same; when a drawing names one, that one is used.
No. Brass has no strength class and is softer and weaker than class 8.8 steel or A2 stainless. Use brass where conductivity, corrosion resistance, non-sparking or appearance matter, and size the joint for brass; for preloaded structural joints use steel or stainless.
They tarnish but do not rust, and they resist fresh water and most atmospheres well. In seawater brass dezincifies over time; nickel plating, or a bronze alloy, is used where that matters.
Yes. Hex nuts, flange nuts, cap nuts and threaded rod above the stock sizes, in any pitch, are turned from CW614N or C36000 bar from 1 piece.
EKINSUN LTD is a custom parts manufacturer that turns brass screws, nuts, washers, standoffs, inserts and rivets in CW614N, C36000, copper and phosphor bronze, in any thread from M1.4 to M64, plain or plated, from 1 piece, with a quote within 12 hours.
No list price; the drivers are bar size, thread and features, plating, and quantity. A batch of M20 fine-pitch brass nuts is a short lathe job; a single polished and chrome-plated cap nut is priced as the turned and finished part it is. The quote states the drivers.
Family, thread and pitch, size or length, finish, quantity, and the alloy if the drawing names one. A photo of the old brass part works. From 1 piece, quote within 12 hours.
Brass fasteners turned to size, pitch, length and finish — from 1 piece, quote in 12 hours.