Just a little extra onto what Stew has said.
Most of the copper based alloys will age harden all by themselves, so don't worry about the parts you have to soften, just by a bit of time and handling, they soon become strong enough to use in your normal situations.
I would now like to make clear about a statement I made in my earlier post
is usually cured by stoning the cutting face to give zero rake.
Brass, when machined, likes to have no top rake on the cutter, and in the C-o-C I have shown the difference between lathe tool profiles to give you an idea of what I was on about. Don't get me wrong, most brass will cut with a top raked tool and give very acceptable results, but under certain conditions and types of brass, a zero rake tool will give superior finishes, so I keep one in my arsenal for those certain times.
It is the same when it comes to twist drills. You will have to excuse my rendition of a twist drill, I can never sketch helix correctly.
Sometimes, twist drills need the same sort of treatment, and is is very easy to do. Holding the drill vertical, rub up and down a few strokes with a stone or diamond lap against the cutting edge, again in a vertical motion. No need to go overboard, just a couple of swipes is enough. This gives the drill version of zero top rake, and you should find that brass cuts a lot easier with no snatching.
I used to have complete drill sets treated in such a way, but after a time I used to get them mixed up with my other drills, and so started having problems drilling into normal materials. So now I use normal ones, and if needed, modify a spare to get the job done.
Bogs