Making an annealing pan with pumice (an economy version)
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2022
- I’m often annealing copper wire so an annealing pan with pumice is an important part of my workshop. A low budget annealing pan with pumice is easy to make with the right materials.
Annealing silver wire is crucial part of the process when making your own wire so to have a large annealing pan with pumice helps the procedure.
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• Jewellery tools, tips ...
#annealingpan # annealingpanwithpumice #economyannealingpan 
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Great idea , thanks like the foot pumice👍
Thanks Colum, being a hobbyist I’m always on the lookout for cheap alternatives to play with … N
You have great ideas Nick thanks for sharing!😊
thanks Cheri, i’ve learnt a lot from RUclips so it’s nice to give a bit back … N
Serendipity, Ether, Law of Attraction, Synchronicity, you just happen to have the perfect size plate in the workshop to fit the turntable, love it, brilliant, it's meant to be.
Oh no I'm getting all esoteric with excitement my man.
I use freecycle a lot Nick. I put a lot of stuff on offer in various groups. But here is the thing, and its pretty uncanny how often this happens. For me and for friends who are after something.
Someone mentions to me, that they need a particular item, and without putting a wanted ad up, the item or something even more suitable comes up on offer. Sometimes within minutes.
serendipity is a good word for it. very satisfying when something just fits. Being a bit of a tool hoarder I dare not go on Freecycle and I limit myself to scrapyard visits to no more than once a month … N
Here in the US you can find the lava gravel at your landscape outlet for cheap! Thanks Nick!
that sounds great Shaun, it would save all the effort trying to smash it up. i’ve not seen it in any gardening shops but apparently it’s also sold for growing cactuses … cheers … Nick
Thanks great idea, I’ll try to make one ❤
Cheers Elisa, hope it goes well for you … N
Great vid! For those breaking pumice at home, wear a good dust mask, the pumice dust is no joke!
hi Connor thanks for the warning, I forgot to mention that bit in the video … safety first … cheers … Nick
I did this same thing a few years ago lava gravel and a 15" cast iron skillet i had picked up somewhere, yard sale, thrift store not sure. ground the handle off, set it on a bar stool swivel plate. been working perfectly for at least 3 years now.
Hi DT, oh I do love a good tool hack, especially when the Jewellery industry seem to charge a lot for their tools … lava gravel sounds interesting … I assume a product sold for driveways by the bag load … very handy … N
@@Nickscreativestuff yes they sell crushed lava rock used as gravel or in flower beds at the local mulch yard here. My reasoning was the same. the cost for a 7" tin bowl with pumice is ridiculous, and not nearly large enough for me. so lava rock gravel and a large skillet is what was needed for me lol.
Great resource to have accessible, no volcanoes or pumice here in the UK. being a hobbyist and not a commercial jeweller who works with golden diamonds, saving a bit of money here and there making tools is very satisfying … N
@@Nickscreativestuff same for me i would rather make anything i can, i also find it satisfying. And to me it is insane to pay 50++ dollars for a 7" tin can and some pumice. 7" container just isnt big enough, and i make rings, its not worth the money. i anneal copper, silver, gold all the time..gold not so much. But why pay that when i can make one for 25 or less and it be twice the size. Hope you are staying safe in the UK.
yes I’m much more of a maker than a spender … managed to stay clear of Covid, using most of my spare time in my Workshop … stay lucky … N
So cool. Love the store
thanks catherine my favourite discount store, a large independent called Rajani’s in Bristol uk. Always end up spending too much when visiting … N
The business!👍👏❤️
thanks for that Suzanne … Nick
Pretty ingenious there Nick!!
I used a cake pan😉
The pumice stone thing cracked me up. I'll probably pick up a couple today.
Thanks 👍
thanks TL, I do love a bargain if it can be had… 🔥 … Cheers … Nick
Pet supplies stores that have fish tank supplies, would have good size bags of lava rock for the bottom of tanks. If I remember right, it use to be pretty cheap. It comes in different sizes and one could get a good size bag of smaller rock ans save breaking it up. Amazon sells a 10lb bag for $17.00.
thanks for the tip T beaudoin. Not heard of that before there’s a large pet store near me, I’ll have to check it out. it’s very satisfying to find a cheaper alternative to something very commercial, i use my large pan a lot … N
Always good to find alternative solutions. Cheers
thanks for that Jim, always satisfying finding an alternative to spending a lot of money on somebody else’s product … Nick
Great idea! I get pumice from our local garden center, available presorted in different sizes, and possibly cheaper than from the grill aisle.
thanks for that habitualforeigner, I wish I had known that before making this video, would have saved me all the work and mess smashing rocks. i’ll definitely check it out next time I’m at the garden centre … cheers … Nick
Hey dude, admire your work 👍 if you wanted an even super cheaper annealing pan/block look up building blocks called Toplite.
They are the size of standard breeze blocks but are pure white in colour and weigh nothing. They are almost pure calcium sulphate which sits there laughing at heat and rebounds it back. A whole block is about 50p in the uk or even less. I have used them in foundry work and they take one hell of a beating before glazing over 👍
Oh and just to show how good that stuff is, I can hold a 1 inch thick tile on my bare hand and melt gold on top of it with a blowtorch, it doesn't even get warm 😀
Nice one Dan, i’ve not heard of toplite before had to Google it, even B&Q sell the blocks so definitely on the shopping list for next visit. i’ve been meaning to try and make a mini furnace so this might be the perfect solution. I do love a top tip … thanks for sharing … Nick
@@Nickscreativestuff no worries dude, always happy to share hints and tips. If you plan on building a furnace i built them for 10 years backyard style and can give you designs that will outweigh most on the net and are just as good as commercial ones.
I do chemistry too, basically calcium sulphate is what cuttle fish bones are made of (good for carving and small castings). That is exactly what those toplite blocks are made of and they are so light and soft you can cut them with a blunt wood saw and also carve them.
Feel free to hit me up for any furnace advice you might need and keep up the good work dude 👍
Must be very satisfying building a furnace that works well. look forward to having a play with some soft toplite blocks. I’m often passing by a Vitcas store here in Bristol, and have thought to pop in if I ever get to the “building a furnace” on the to do list. Probably one of the best routes to achieving success with a project is to take advice from others with much more experience … thanks for the offer … i’ll keep it in mind when I get there with it all … cheers … Nick
@@Nickscreativestuff seriously dude, i spent a few years researching building and refining my builds. For the awesome (and free) videos you create i would be more than happy to show you how to build the best furnace for your needs. I have built small ones for jewellery, horizontal ones for knives and blades etc right up to a small....ish furnace that can melt 5kg of iron.
Trust me, materials are cheap, takes very little time or skill and i have built them to use solid fuel, propane and waste oil......all were amazing.
Amazing 👌
thanks for that Kajenoghrei … Nick
I wonder if the coarsest grade of expanded clay aggregate- as used in hydroponis- might do as well. It's cheaper than lava rock and , as it wouldn't need crushing, also saves time and energy (and, if you're safety-concious, the cost of a respirator).
thanks for the suggestion littlespinycactus … i’ve not heard of this stuff before, I often pass by a local hydroponics shop i’ll have to pop in and check it out. Good to hear about possible alternatives, opportunity for another video … cheers … Nick
Yes I don't want to crush rocks
That pumis stone is a great idea
yes and cheap at my local discount store … N
I'm wondering where you get the thick copper wire? I'm in the UK and make chainmaile (awesome video the other day BTW) but trying to find large guage copper for making rings. Any ideas?
hi Bear Piglett, i’m often down my local scrapyard keeping an eye out for what comes in. Buying copper wire this way is a lot cheaper for me
I then reduce it down to the size I need with drawer plates … I made a video on just this subject ruclips.net/video/69GhW5OiEiE/видео.html see what you think … cheers … Nick
Is that rajanis nick?
hi Richard, oh yes it definitely is … One of my favourite cheap Jack stores … “A cheap tool is better than no tool“ … Nick
What do you think about using Cat Litter, in a pinch??? It's basically Clay...thoughts?
using cat litter might be a bit smelly if you don’t get all the lumps out first … 💩 … 🙀 … lol … always worth trying new things, if it reflects heat quickly and doesn’t explode or melt when heated it might be a perfect discovery … cheers … Nick
@@Nickscreativestuff , Ha,Ha
Thought I'd give it a go.
Hello i actually qent out and found those pumice on a rope things and a suitable thick based pan for anealing. I was thinking of taking a hammer to rhe pumice to make them more supportive rsther than judt blocks of pumice in a pan. How much heat can the pumice cope with do you know ?:
I’ve found that pure butane or propane is fine with this pumice, it’s very reflective so builds heat quickly. However not so good with my propane and oxygen mixed torch as it burns a lot hotter, it seems to melt and fuse into a glassy substance … N
@Nickscreativestuff I was thinking of ordering some of the map gas ? It's supposedly better for copper work. Pumice wise I bought 6 or 8 fairly large avocado sized but only 1cm thick so I figure I can out them all together in my rectangle pan and create a leveling surface . Will I still need a thick solder brick too? Or will I be OK annealing and soldering with what I've mentioned? What's your thoughts ? Thank you kirt
A lot of people like to use mapp gas as it is that bit hotter than propane or butane alone. I think your pumice blocks will be a great start for annealing and soldering on. There’s a lot of choice for soldering blocks and it depends on what you will mostly be doing. A cheap general purpose soldering block from somewhere like cousinsUK.com is a nice large flat surface for a variety of jobs. Beyond this a soft charcoal block is my favourite to use as it’s very clean to solder on and are easily modify, however they don’t last long.
Honeycomb blocks are more expensive and break easily however great for assembly of components as pins can be used for positioning and the holes can also be used for wiring … N
@Nickscreativestuff Thank you ok so I shall go ahead with my pumice blocks for now untill I find a rthym of what I am mainly doing snd decide from there. I know it won't be honeycomb as break ti easy. And because I'm a big worry freak I'll be extra careful so the flame won't be out of control at any time so I'll be fine using what I have I'm just over worrying as usual. Fab thank you
I recently saw a large rectangle pizza stone in Lidl’s that was rather cheap, thought it would make a great heat proof tile for a soldering hearth. fire safety is a concern with jewellery making, some people never move on to soldering and torch work because of the inherent dangers. i’ve been meaning to get a small fire extinguisher for my workspace for a bit of peace of mind … N