Tool Time Tuesday - Anneal Your Metal

Jewelry Artist and Melissa Muir, covers and demonstrates how to anneal metal using a butane torch.

[DancesWithLight]

Excellent demo, Melissa. You are an awesome instructor!

[MelissaMuir]

Thanks Boxer3086. You will find that annealing makes working with metal so much nicer. And of course, there is less cracking, breaking and buckling. I am glad I could help.

[MichellesHandmadeCreations]

Awesome tutorial. Always wondered what it was and why it was necessary to anneal. Thanks so much!

[birdieroad]

Thank you for a perfectly informative tutorial! Very helpful and clear to this brand new metal crafter!

[emmewilliams]

Can stainless steel be annealed with a blow torch? Do I still need to immediately quench it, or do I need to put it in a bucket of sand? I’m making spoon rings out of stainless steel, but I’m having a hard time getting it to bend in my Pepe tool superior ring bender. How do I know when stainless steel is completely annealed. Also, what are the benefits of stainless steel spoons from sterling silver spoons? Thank you in advance!!

[AlwaysMetaling]

This is one of the BEST explanations of annealing! You’re the first person to address that ghosting or shadow that is on the metal that’s been marked with the Sharpie. I never knew when to stop, trying to completely removing that shadow. And then I think I’ve over-annealed. With silver, I began granulating and that’s not what I wanted. Thanks sooo much! I am hoping that I find a really great teaching video too about soldering. One of the scariest for me! xo 😘

[MelissaMuir]

@Sarah Robbins, There are a number of ways for you to harden your metal. Working the metal as you are doing your design is one natural way of hardening it. Sometimes it needs to go a bit further than that though. You can gently pinch your wire or metal with your flat nose pliers to help compress the crystalline structure. Striking with a rawhide or nylon mallet will also compress the structure and give the piece more strength. Some will also tumble the piece for several hours.

[AbeOnline]

Thanks. How make the metals hard again?

[AlwaysMetaling]

Another question, how do you know when you’re using, say, 14 gauge silver when it’s annealed? I don’t think the Sharpie trick works. Thanks sooo much in advance. xo