Why do I anneal my brass PE parts?? How do I do it??

In this video I show you why I anneal my brass PE and how I do it. I was inspired by this video.. • Titanic Trumpeter Fore...

[@MrVolvobloke]

A that's it in a nutshell. If you want to watch models being built there's loads of channels out there, but if you want to learn HOW to build models- you come here. Thanks for being so generous with the tips Nige.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

You're welcome. It's nice to hear praise rather than "Have you ever finished a model"?

[@mbenn8168]

@@NigelsModellingBench But have you ever finished a model? - Naaaah! Ditto that, this is an absolute goldmine for tips and techniques. Especially as a life long Tamiya fan, when I risk a Roden or Revell, the fit and finish tips are invaluable.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

@@mbenn8168 ha ha bloody ha!!

[@marcushalter460]

Well said, a wealth of knowledge you are Nige

[@paulkirkland3263]

I used to anneal brass in metalwork classes at school, so I was familiar with it. What I wasn't familiar with was the method of rolling the annealed brass on a sanding sponge! This will be a huge help - thank you!

[@rabidbat9708]

Nigel you are right about both, quenching and not quenching brass. Brass anneals in a few seconds at 700f (371c) to 750f (399c) to long at this temp or higher temp and the brass remains permanently soft, not a big deal for modeling use, but for most things it needs to be able to work harden again, so it needs quenched to stop the process. Also the lowest temp brass will anneal at is 600f (316c) takes about an hour. Good vid as always, seems like a lot of new people are getting into this hobby and vids like this will keep the frustration levels down and keep them in the hobby.

[@trumpetertitanic4224]

Thanks again for the shoutout Nigel. I appreciate it loads. Ill be doing the same very soon for you and a few other channels that helped me and are helping me get through this model and document it to hopefully help others. You ROCK and thanks for all the great vids. If it wasn't for people like you I guarantee, Trumpeter wouldn't have half the sales they do. The details are overwhelming without the support of channels like yours. Keep up the great work!!!

[@paulleigh7792]

Nigel: Excellent demonstration on a topic I’d not really had on the radar up to now.

[@TheModelBoatGuy]

Great video Nigel, annealing PE was a slow and rather painful leaning curve for me! Being very pleased with my models and then watching them slowly disassemble themselves over the course of a few months or years! Cheers, Rob

[@modelsandbeer]

Hello Nigel! Great tip, Thank you! This will be a very nice addition to my photoetch arsenal! Thank you for sharing!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ianthomson9363]

Now that's what I call a very useful video. I have some bits of PE in upcoming projects, and being quite new to this aspect of modelling I've learned how to do things properly. Many thanks!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad it was helpful!

[@darylsuess8990]

Amazing what a difference a little heat can do. Thanks for the tip Nigel. Cheers!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

No problem 👍

[@90sarcadefighter5]

I shall do this forever! thank you for this priceless tip Nigel.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

You are very welcome

[@clydesims5121]

Great tutorial Nigel! Just put the torch on my Christmas list.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Good gift!!

[@phillipsiviter2024]

I watched your annealing during one of your Titanic videos and went and invested in a Lexivon set of Amazon - took two attempts as the first one got “lost” by Hermes - second one was by Royal Mail.

[@S_MannMann]

THANKS for the info! Question - (I think I saw this on another KZbin Video about annealing - I asked Aussie Trekkie this question but he didn't know): To gauge the correct amount of heat to apply - scribble lines on the brass with a Sharpie marker, then apply torch (evenly) over the brass surface until the marker lines have "boiled" off. What do you think? Has anyone else heard of (or tried) this? (Seems like annealing may not be necessary for some photo-etch parts but is very helpful for parts to be "curled" or parts that may be flexed a lot.)

[@NigelsModellingBench]

It's like airbrushing.. some just get on with it, some like to turn it into a scientific exercise. Basically.. heat it till it changes to a blue hue, quench or not. If it is still springy afterwards, just try it again. If you start to see red.. BACK OFF!!!

[@SteveJonesScaleModellingSite]

Nice vid Nigel. I learnt something new which is always a good thing. Many thanks

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad to hear it

[@ernest9868]

is there a point in annealing things like 1/350 ship railings and such? they are super thin already. i understand why you would bother with larger strips of brass like in the video

[@NigelsModellingBench]

No never anneal anything you dont want to bend as you would seat belts etc.

[@karlosmitz3027]

Thank you for a great tutorial! I stuffed up my Hobby Boss 1/35 Land Rover headlight grills - didn’t do it and ruined them!

[@SullysScaleModels]

I wish id know about this earlier lol this is brilliant! Iv just done some seat belts i will have to remember this for next time! Great vid some great info, lean something new every day!!

[@AbstractArmorHLF]

Excellent video. Very informative.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@paulbrooker5203]

Another great tip , cheers old bean .

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@georgedistel1203]

Thanks for the information

[@alessandrocovacevich5346]

Spectacular 🙌🏻

[@olivercooney6645]

Two videos in one day that's a good effort

[@NigelsModellingBench]

There may be three??

[@olivercooney6645]

@@NigelsModellingBench your a tease hahaha

[@yvonnecarpenter2957]

Can all PE materials be annealed or only brass? The PE sets I use are not brass, I am not sure what the material is - all I know is that it is NOT yellowish like brass! But I do struggles to keep the roll, mostly for exhaust pipes.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

I believe any metal can be annealed, just heat it till it turns red and allow to cool. You are supposed to quench copper and brass but if you quench steel it will harden it. Best not quench at all.

[@127TROOP]

perfect tutorial.....subbed and thanks Nigel.....🤙🏼

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Thanks for the sub!

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Nice video Nigel !!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mikerobitaille9622]

Hi Nige, I saw your your annealing video and like most of your videos... I learned the why/benefit of doing things. Thank you for sharing :-) Question: For PE where bends are required, is it recommended to anneal them first and does size or degree/severity of bend influence the decision? I just received my first Eduards cockpit PE set in 1/72 and several of the pieces require bending...

[@NigelsModellingBench]

No Mike, don't anneal anything that needs to be bent, however, if it needs to be curved, like a wheel arch or something it's easier if it's annealed.

[@mbenn8168]

Might be a silly question, but why don't the manufacturers just anneal the whole sheet?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

The Brass will lose its ductility over time, which is another good reason for doing this.. it kind of "sets" in the correct shape.

[@mbenn8168]

@@NigelsModellingBench Thx mate. Understood.

[@steveclarke6257]

It's a shame that you can't quite anneal brass in the kitchen oven, as they don't quite get hot enough to get to the 300+ deg C you need.

[@vasili1207]

you dont need to get it that hot , oven is fine for pe , maybe brass bars

[@NigelsModellingBench]

I've tried annealing in my oven at 300 degrees.. it didn't work. I have read you need 400 degrees? Also, it's the material that determines the heat required, not its mass. This must not be confused with welding or brazing, where heat soak is an issue the more mass you have, so a higher current is required to achieve the same local temperature for a good weld.

[@jamesmoore6146]

What type of magnifier do you use to work with these small pieces?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

On old daylight one with the ring lamp around the lens.

[@S_MannMann]

One other thing - same as Vasili's comment below. Shouldn't the brass be allowed to cool gradually? Wouldn't that allow the brass to retain maximum ductility?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Non ferrous materials should be quenched to correctly anneal them.. but in practice I find it makes not a lot of difference, considering we are only annealing very thin strips. Maybe a larger mass of material. like a 10mm thick plate would require quenching to fix its annealed state. I'm sure Google is your friend.

[@vasili1207]

not sure why you quench the brass in water that makes it stiffer as the molecules lock back up . :S

[@NigelsModellingBench]

No.. not with non ferrous materials. look it up. It's an argument I've had all my adult life. I was taught years ago by a very senior Metallurgist I worked with.

[@jeremysnow3030]

I think your white/balance keeps changing..!!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Yes it does. if I fix it, the whites are too bright or the other stuff is too dark. I'm a modeller, not a photographer. Now tell me.. did you get anything of use from the video?

[@jeremysnow3030]

I want to add fuselage ‘frames’ to my Airfix MK-IXc so this gave me confidence 👍

[@jeremysnow3030]

I have really enjoyed 👍 your Lancaster and Spitfire Series’. Do you have any home photo-etch videos?

[@NigelsModellingBench]

@@jeremysnow3030 never tried it.

[@NigelsModellingBench]

@@jeremysnow3030 never tried it.