3D STUDIO PRACTICE

METALSMITHING

ANNEALING:

Non ferrous metals (copper, brass, nickel silver)

Annealing is the process of reducing stress within a metal and making it soft and malleable. It is achieved by heating the metal to a certain temperature. Once metal has been annealed it is much easier to bend, stretch, form, twist, hammer, or manipulate to whatever shape you wish.

As you work your metal it will become "work hardened" and difficult to manipulate. At this point if you have further work to do on your metal it will be necessary to anneal it. In the process of making a particular work it may be necessary to anneal the metal many times.

THE PROCESS

• Place your metal on a suitable fire proof surface
• Using an L.P. or a Natural Gas / Compressed Air torch apply the flame to the metal.
• A large bushy flame is best, as it will heat a larger area.
• Play the flame over the metal gradually building up the heat.
• Continue heating until you have achieved red heat in all of the metal.
• The metal doesn’t need to be red all over at the sametime, just as long as each part has achieved red heat along the way.
• If you continue to heat the metal the colour will change from red to orange to yellow. You don’t need to go this far as it is unnecessarily overheating the metal.
• With copper, after achieving red heat you can plunge the hot metal into a bucket of water or run it under the tap. Wipe dry.
• With brass and nickel it is better to let it cool for a bit before putting it in the water.
• Your metal will now be annealed

• The process for annealing wire is the same as for sheet metal, except that you may not need as big a flame.
• For short pieces, place them on a suitable fireproof surface then heat.
• For long pieces it is easier to roll the wire into a small coil and then heat.
• Be careful when annealing not to melt the wire as it will heat up a lot quicker than the sheet.