Quick Tip: Annealing

[@jerrybennett7856]

Great tips. Other videos i have watched never mentioned quenching. Thank you.

[@JustJani]

Glad I could help!

[@josepheaton5087]

Does this let off any unsafe fumes? I would like to do this in my warm basement, my garage shop gets to cold in these winter months

[@JustJani]

Hi! Ideally you’d want to be in a ventilated area. Acetylene is lighter than air and will just hang around and eat oxygen (not leaving as much air for you). And you wouldn’t know bc it’s odorless. Since you don’t need it on very long at a time for these projects you could work by a window or fan.

[@josepheaton5087]

@ thank you, just trying to keep safe 😊! Also, I want to extend my appreciation for the quick response

[@JustJani]

You’re welcome. Happy bending!😃

[@cynthiawulff7831]

Hey Jani, I came to this video because I just watched your fork saddle ring, AWESOME! So, I’m curious, once you heat the flatwear with the torch, the metal becomes bendable wether hot or cold? so you could anneal 5 pieces, then work them later? thanks for your great vids!!

[@JustJani]

Yes! After you anneal you quench it by dropping it in a container of room temp water. Take it out, dry it off, and you can work with it then or years later. Yes, you can anneal as many pieces as you want at a time.

[@reneem8328]

Hi Jani, thanks for the great video. Just wondering do you torch the whole fork or just the head.

[@JustJani]

Hi Renee, It depends on the project. If I’m only bending the tines and head I only anneal that. If I’m bending the whole fork I will anneal all of it. If I know I’m going to make a fork tine ring out of the head a the rest for a regular ring, I’ll do it all so it’s done. You can’t go wrong. If you start a project and find out it’s not bending very easy, you can still go back and anneal. Hope this helps!

[@reneem8328]

@@JustJani thank you

[@Txnkid76]

Does annealing help with pieces to not break and how much easier is it to bend using anneal Vs. Not? I have been bending for a couple of months now. I LOVE your videos and thanks for sharing!

[@JustJani]

Thank you so much! I’ve had a couple injuries that have kept me from doing any bending lately. Yes, annealing changes the structure and hardness of the material. It is easier to bend and that makes it less likely to break. Sometimes you get a piece that is already soft and it bends just fine without annealing. You’ll get to know what needs it and what doesn’t. Or if you start bending and realize it’s not going well, you can always stop and anneal it.

[@Txnkid76]

Hope you heal soon! 🙏🙏🙏

[@jerrybennett7856]

Can you let it cool down to work it?

[@JustJani]

You can let it air cool, but it may harden up a bit making it difficult to work with. When you anneal you are changing the metals structure. When you quench you are “freezing it in that state” so that it remains soft and workable. Maybe experiment on a few and see what works best for you.

[@audreykaylean4323]

Ooh, science!

[@Goodellsam]

I've heard others say you can't aneal silver plate.

[@JustJani]

🤔 Every flatware artist I know anneals. You can over do it and ruin/melt your silver plate, but that’s why we use the Sharpie trick. It keeps us from overdoing it.

[@deelenagraves956]

I annealed a fork and actually thought it was harder to bend. What did I do wrong?

[@JustJani]

@@deelenagraves956 Hi, I’m not sure what happened. My best guess is that your piece didn’t get hot enough to be softened or it wasn’t quenched to stop the process or both. Did you try the Sharpie trick and quench after?

[@deelenagraves956]

@@JustJani yes. I'll try again. Maybe I didn't quench it quick enough. 🤔

[@JustJani]

@@deelenagraves956 I anneal on a magnesia soldering block. When the sharpie disappears I pick it up with tongs and drop it in my tub of room temp water. Nothing fancy. I hope you have better luck with your next one! 🤞🏻