Subscribe To This Site
Jewelry Making Annealing Tips and Techniques, the Importance of the Heating ProcessJewelry making annealing process, is one of the techniques you will be using all the time:
Annealing is the process used to soften metal by applying controlled heat with a torch or a kiln. Since, the heat needs to be controlled, practice and experience will give you a better sense of the temperature each metal requires.
The annealing process creates flexibility again by causing the metal molecules to move farther apart and thus, prevents fractures from happening to your pieces, thus, facilitating the jewelry making process. Remember that each metal has a different melting point; therefore, different temperatures are used depending on the metal you are working with.
For example;
fine silver
and
pure gold
need little or no heating because they are already pliable enough to be manipulated.
Other metals such as;
copper
become hardened when manipulated and require regular heating.
When hardening metal be sure to hold the heat to the metal at the correct temperature for about 30 seconds. It is impossible to measure the actual temperature of the metal, however you can get a good estimate it by the way it changes color.
It is also helpful to work on tempering you jewelry design pieces when you do it in a darken room. This allows you to see the changes in the metal more clearly. By practicing the annealing process, you will facilitate your ability to fabricate your designs. From jewelry making annealing process and othe jewerly making techniques
|
