Tutorial: How to Anneal

Posted on May 11, 2011 by

I finally did it, I tried to make a video.  I wanted to show people how to anneal correctly, so I recorded myself doing it.  The color is still a little off, but tell me how my first try did!

About Wendy Edsall-Kerwin

Metal. To many it is hard, rigid, and immovable. But metal flows, bends, and can be worked over and over again. It is both industrial and
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12 Responses to Tutorial: How to Anneal

  1. Aurora says:
    May 11, 2011 at 10:10

    Nice colour… however I’ve had variable results of the copper being like butter or not. Upon reading several books, Oppi’s being one of them it would appear the cooling method has something to do with it as well… whether you allow the red to go out of the metal before quenching or whether you plunge it immediately into the quench. Which method do you use Wendy?

    • Wendy Edsall-Kerwin says:
      May 11, 2011 at 14:34

      I always wait until the metal isn’t red before quenching. Some people would argue that quenching at all while it’s hot will harden it. Sometimes I won’t quench and just let it cool on either a steel block or my anvil. With copper, I haven’t really noticed a difference though.

  2. Aurora says:
    May 11, 2011 at 10:14

    btw is it the same method when working with nickel sheet? Or does annealing even help nickel? LOL

  3. Lynn Ballinger says:
    May 11, 2011 at 11:46

    Hi Wendy, the link doesn’t work for me, is there another way to view this?

  4. Kathleen Krucoff says:
    May 11, 2011 at 15:01

    This was very cool Wendy! I think you did a great job and I could see the colors and changes you were describing. Looking forward to seeing more. I think videos are fun and a great way to help people see a bit more of what you do in your creative process.

  5. indigoskye says:
    May 11, 2011 at 17:11

    Nicely done video. :) I always wondered how long to take a torch to a sheet of copper. This gives me a better idea.

  6. Julie Brown says:
    May 12, 2011 at 07:21

    I think you did a smashing job of documenting the technique, Wendy. Very clear dialogue and images. A great learning tool!

  7. Wendy Edsall-Kerwin says:
    May 12, 2011 at 11:02

    Thank you for all the feedback everyone! It’s hard to tell how the video comes out. It’s like hearing your voice recorded, you always think it sounds wrong!

  8. Gregor Weitzel says:
    May 22, 2011 at 16:07

    I thought that was a very good video of annealing. Your words explained it well and your pics showed it well. Thanks for the reminder. I have some similar little videos in mind and will let you know when I do them.

    btw I found you from George’s Lapidary Forum. (gregorgr8) He is a very cool guy.

    Thanks again,

    Gregor

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