Is this potential press brass?

[TiaraHelen]

A couple of weeks ago I found an old candleholder thing that had two flat brass-coloured plates top and bottom, so I dismantled it and am hoping to make a press out of them.  They are flat semicircles, with three aligned holes, the sheet is about 1mm thick.  How can I check whether the metal is suitable for using as a press (apart from the obvious "try it!)?  Hopefully someone more experienced in presses than I am will be able to help me?  Thanks in advance...

[Sulis (Hazel)]

Hi Helen,

I'm not a press expert, but I have tried to use 'finds' to shape glass before, with mixed success. I've successfully been using a brass finial on a brass screw thread to shape indentations in beads, so I guess that's a bit similar. Have you tried scratching the metal on a non-contact surface to a depth of a couple of mm to see if it's the same colour all the way through? Does it feel quite heavy? If the candleholder is not of any particular value/use as it is, it may be worth a try anyway 

Sorry, not much use there, am I?!   

[Pat from Canvey]

You can also use old hair straighteners as a masher while saving up to buy a "proper" one. You can use almost anything metal as the glass is not in contact for long enough to melt. Pointed kitched knives are especially useful as are different shapes of spoons.

[garishglobes]

I used an old and beaten-up brass cymbal for a while as a very large marver It was great for bicones.
As far as your candleholder goes, you could get some scrap glass and just try it? I don't know any other way without cutting into the metal or scraping it to see if it is plated, and if you do that it might not be much good to press with afterwards