Tremendous - it cuts like butter! Guess it's 3% lead, CW614N/ C38500 alloy and it has a wonderful colour/ shine. So, I just got myself a yard of this beast to make a few dozens of #31 gears off - or perhaps even a "Full Scale" 1 1/4" dia. x 3" # 63 Coupling w M15 grub screws? Sorta gives the expression "Free Machining Brass" a whole new and literal meaning? This piece would easily set me back 150 quid at a dealer. // Ah, yes. The lathe: Blomqvist 9 x 24" BS-600K, South Bend "C" model/ Boxford knock-off built in the sixties - originally for imperial thread cutting in the by then all Metric Sweden...