Annealing Sterling Silver Using A Butane Torch
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 เม.ย. 2015
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Safety Glasses;
Butane Torch;
Butane Refills;
Copper Tongs;
Paint Brushes;
Flux;
Charcoal Block;
Kiln Shelf;
Lazy Susan Base;
20 Ga. Round Silver Wire; and,
6 Ga. Half Round Silver Wire
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In this video, Prof. John Ahr covers the specific issues related to annealing sterling silver. If you are a beginning jewelry designer or, if you regularly work with sterling silver, you'll want to watch this video.
Annealing, or softening metal with heat, is a basic task in any jewelry production operation. Annealing improves ones ability to manipulate metal into various forms. It greatly increases the malleability and ductility of sterling silver.
If you improperly anneal sterling silver you can potentially over oxidize it, reticulate it or melt it. Likewise, bad annealing habits will increase your fuel costs over time.
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Your videos are always so helpful. Thank you!!!
I’m glad that you like them. Thanks for watching!😀
Thank you so much for your advice. Yes, I have seen your video about the inexpensive ventilation system, and I decided to check with you first. I will definitely get the insurance information. I have a butane torch as well and probably with the right ventilation as you refer in your video I can do small projects for now. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it and I will be waiting for the short video about this information😉👍👍.
Hi Alice, I'm glad that I could help you to feel more confident in pursuing your creativity. Have a great time making cool things this winter.
Thanks for your support! : )
Perfect, just what I was looking for!
Glad you found the video helpful. Thanks for watching! 😀
Thank´s for the video. Would have been nice to see the result on the wire. If it got softer or not.
Glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching! 😀
Very helpfull , I usually turn off my light to see he color change throught the piece
+Guy Baldridge
Hi Guy, I usually turn the lights off too when I'm annealing silver. It's the best way to make sure that you don't accidentally melt anything.
Thanks for watching! : )
Thank you.
Kim Hotchkiss Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching! : )
Another great video John!. I have a question for you, I am living in a state where winter is around the corner, and is cold out, I am living in a 6 floor building apartment, do you have any suggestions on how can I make my jewelry under this conditions because I would like to use my torch for projects but I am afraid to use it due to the gases from the torch and other products.
Hi Alice, This is a serious issue that we should make a short video about sometime. Apartment dwellers do need to be careful about fumes in a home work space. There are products available from jewelry supply companies that will eliminate fumes and smoke from your bench area. And, the OJA has a video on how to make an inexpensive ventilation system. The video is called "Venting In The Jewelry Lab." But, please be sure to check with your insurance company to make sure that your renters insurance will cover you for any losses that might come about due to the operation of your torch within your apartment. Most insurers will NOT cover you if you operate a torch bigger than a small butane torch. The "fuel load" of an Acetylene torch, for instance, is considered too risky for apartment use. Good luck with working on your creative projects this winter.
Thanks for your support! : )
Another great video and thank you for sharing your expertise with all of us. I did some annealing with copper and got side tracked with all the lovely colour changes :) Whether it's silver or copper, is there a limit to how many times a piece can be annealed?
Hi Gisele, That's a great question. Most beginning jewelers make the mistake of annealing a piece too often or too many times. This can cause the metal to be unevenly worked. My advise is to only anneal a piece if you have taken your work to the point where you cannot continue without annealing again. And you can do that as many times as you need to. Good luck with your creative projects.
Thanks for your support! : )
@@OnlineJewelryAcademy thank you so much! I'm on the right track ;)
thank you professor john for the great Demo.
this afternoon i was working on annealing a link bracelet .
my plan was to make a Cuban curb bracelet..
so i went to anneal it before twisting it.
i guess i over heated the bracelet with my casting torch to red glowing color . then after i quenched it. i noticed that all solder joints wore melted (i used easy solder) a BUMMER big time after all the work i invested in it :0((
my question is: since you mentioned the Annealing Temp is between 1110 and 1200 F. can i place my piece in a Kiln oven at 1200 degree and quench it ?. this way i'd make sure i'm not over-heating my piece .
Thank you in advance.
Sorry to hear that you had a problem with your chain. Now you know why I say to always try to solder each joint with hard solder. By the way, you might be able to reflow solder into the seams that became depleted when you annealed your work. With regard to annealing in the kiln, it can be done. But you need to watch the temperature gauge on the kiln and set a timer. When the kiln goes back to 1,100 degrees, leave your piece in for about 10 minutes before you take it out and quench it. Good luck with your creative pursuits.
Thanks for your support! : )
Hi, thank you so much for this video! Is it possible to use a kitchen torch?
The torch I use in the video is a butane torch that can reach a temperature of 1500 degrees F. If your "kitchen torch" gets that hot, you can use it to solder. : )
@@OnlineJewelryAcademy I don't need to solder, just to anneal! So maybe a kitchen torch could be enough?
@@paoladallatorre5661 There are two issues, temperature and btu, or how much thermal power a torch can deliver. Some propane Creme Brulee torches can reach the required temp, but may be too small to deliver the thermal firepower needed for soldering or annealing more than small quantities or metal. You can try what you have on the size/quantity of metal you are working with. If you can heat it up to the faint pink described (turn out the lights so you can see it better), then it will be fine. If you can't see a pink glow after several seconds of heating, you'll need a bigger torch. For small jobs, a suitable torch is not expensive - $25-$30 - possibly less than what the fancy chef's places charge you for a creme brulee torch.
I've watched several different videos on annealing silver, and I'm a bit confused on the subject of quenching. Some people say to not quench at all, but let it slowly cool, while others like John quench the metal after annealing. Obviously, dropping glowing metal into a cooler medium like water will harden the metal, so maybe this is just about letting the metal cool down enough first? Thanks for all the advice in advance! :)
Hi Kurt, You need to watch the OJA's video on reticulation. I cover annealing silver in great detail in that video. The only times you should avoid quenching silver in water is if you are preparing the silver for reticulation or you are raising a silver form and want to avoid cracks. The folks who watch "Forged In Fire" think that all metals behave like iron. They don't. I hope this helps.
Thanks for your support! : )
Thanks John for the elaboration--I have a lot to learn, so thanks for all your helpful videos. I'll watch that video again--thanks again for taking the time to respond here. :)
Thanks John for that important correction. It sure looks like some of the videos on annealing I've watched have confused their metals. Thanks again for your concise and accurate information!
Hi Kurt, Recently we have received a number of comments regarding annealing and there seems to be some confusion. Most of the comments were respectful. But, some of the comments were very disrespectful. So, this week we will be releasing a video that better defines the differences in working with ferrous or nonferrous metals. We hope that you enjoy our next video.
Thanks for your continued support of the OJA! : )
Sorry to hear you get unpleasant comments. It's all too frequent on youtube...I have to moderate my videos very closely. Thanks again for being so positive and helpful to answer everyone's posts. :)
hi there,
i'm trying to anneal a small piece of brass stamping..
but the heat torch is causing it to darken,
could u tell me if there is a way of restoring it back to the original golden brass colour afterwards?
thank you so much for any info
+Rhian X
Hi Rhian, The OJA has a video on how to restore brass to its original color: th-cam.com/video/eZoyrAdhHpo/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for your support! : )
thank you so much for that link: i just watched the video and look forward to giving it a try! fingers Xd!
is it a similar process to anneal gold so its easier for setting stones on bezels?
Hi Allen, The main thing to take away from this video is that you really need to watch your silver as you anneal to make sure that you don't melt it. It's best to perform this operation in a darkened studio. And, you need to be especially careful when you anneal wire. It doesn't matter if you're working in silver or gold when it comes to setting stones in bezels. Unless you make the bezels exceptionally thick, the bezels will easily bend over the edge of your stone. They are generally about 28 gauge in thickness. And, anytime you solder, you are automatically annealing your piece.
Thanks for your support! : )
hi John, know you DURAFIX? to solder I dn't know if can to use it 4 solder coper wire. May you tell me plzzz 😊
Hi Neva, I looked up Durafix online. It appears that it is for welding aluminum. The soldering techniques shown on the OJA will work for copper, brass, silver and gold but not for aluminum that needs to be welded.
Thanks for your support! : )
OnlineJewelryAcademy thank you Mr. John👍🙋
I
I agree with you on that point but it's very easy to make dead soft metal it's nearly impossible for the average jeweler or crafter to make spring hard metal.
+Jack odonohue
Yes, it's difficult to make "spring hard metal" for the average crafter. But, there are plenty of other options. Or, you can enlist the assistance of a "jobber" to help. The mission of the OJA is to provide basic crafting information and related information to its viewers. We show what is possible.
Thanks for watching! : )
I annealed a sterling piece last night, and even after giving it a thick coat of paste flux, there was a lot of firescale I had to polish off. I'm not posting this to get an answer to this, obviously a lot more experimentation is needed for me to find the right flux chemistry to minimize firescale.
I think the root of your problem is the length of time that it takes you to anneal your metal. Try using a hotter flame and speeding up the process. That should cut down on the amount of oxidation build-up that you're getting on your silver.
Thanks for your support! : )
Thanks John--tha's something to try with my larger torch. :)
Exactly which butane torch are you using? Brand? Model?
The video was made a few years ago. But the torch in my studio is a Micro Touch Power Probe. 😀
Should we pickle the annealed wire before the next step
Yes. You should always pickle and brass brush metals after annealing. 😀
@@OnlineJewelryAcademy sir, i have one more question. Can i do ultrasonic cleaning of the copper piece after pickling and skip the brass brush part ?
@@nikhiljoshy3945 No. Brass brushing removes oxides that the Ultrasonic cleaner cannot. 😀
are you using dead-soft or half-hard wire?
Annealing the wire makes it dead soft. Half hard wire is generally used directly from a supplier to create wire wrapped pieces. 😀
But in this video, the light is too bright and the item will be ruined from overheating.
No, everything was just fine. It’s difficult to capture the true appearance of things under studio lights. 🙂
Jewelry suppliers charge more for dead soft metal because they have to perform 1 more step before they can ship it
+Jack odonohue
Hi Jack, The option of purchasing dead soft metal is a boon for many who do not own a torch or know how to safely operate one. For example, many people who make wire wrapped jewelry prefer this option. Plus, buying dead soft metal can potentially save you time and money on your energy bill.
Thanks for watching! : )
Silver hates me lol
First, love the screen name. Second, silver doesn't hate you. It just wants you to practice more. : )