First annealment

RNbonsai

RNbonsai

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I finally decided to anneal copper wire for the first time. I did it on the backyard fire. It makes the wire so much better! Wow!
I did some last night and will do the rest tonight.

took a pic to show, I got 2 20ft wires with 19 pieces inside for like 4 bucks each at Lowe’s from the discount rack when I negotiated with em! I took one or theones I did last night too
 

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To advise other newbies- bigger wire requires a bigger fire. Not hotter, but wider. Had to shoot from the hip and burn alittle grass
 

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I workedish, the wire was all braided and I didn’t account for that. Didn’t have time to straighten it all out into single strands. Somehow didn’t consider that as an issue even though I knew it was braided. Will single. It out in the future and may cook it again
 
Did you pickle it? Your annealed wire is pretty clean looking. Now get yourself the scrapyard and get that really cheap wire! Well done!
 
I also annealed some hardware store copper last weekend, 14 and 18 gauge. I used it this Saturday on a. It’s wry juniper. The 14 was perfect, super soft and work hardened nicely as I applied it. The 18, albeit thinner, didn’t seem to be annealed as well and was more of a struggled to apply than the 14.

I bought some proper imported annealed copper wire last month and have it waiting for a better juniper that I want to style in a couple months. My DIY home annealed copper was to practice with as I’ve only used aluminum up until this point. I’ve now seen the appeal of copper over alu, the 18 gauge copper held as well as 2mm alu. Pretty unbelievable until you’ve tried it.
 
SeanS said:
I also annealed some hardware store copper last weekend, 14 and 18 gauge. I used it this Saturday on a. It’s wry juniper. The 14 was perfect, super soft and work hardened nicely as I applied it. The 18, albeit thinner, didn’t seem to be annealed as well and was more of a struggled to apply than the 14.

I bought some proper imported annealed copper wire last month and have it waiting for a better juniper that I want to style in a couple months. My DIY home annealed copper was to practice with as I’ve only used aluminum up until this point. I’ve now seen the appeal of copper over alu, the 18 gauge copper held as well as 2mm alu. Pretty unbelievable until you’ve tried it.
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it’s possible to overheat copper wire. If you do, it becomes brittle rather than soft.

you can fix it by annealing it again, but to a lower temperature. It should just have a pink glow.
 
New to Bonsai here... what is the point of annealing?
 
RNbonsai said:
To advise other newbies- bigger wire requires a bigger fire. Not hotter, but wider. Had to shoot from the hip and burn alittle grass
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Good job, when annealing braided I do it two steps, once still braided, then pull it apart, coil and re anneal.

But.......please take the time to remove the plastic coating, the fumes are super toxic, I just lay a razor knife parallel and fillet off a strip, then it peels pretty easily.
 
BajaKen said:
New to Bonsai here... what is the point of annealing?
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Annealing copper wire makes it soft and easy to wrap around branches. As you wrap, it stiffens up. It’s called “work hardening”. The point is, it’s easy to apply, and then once you bend the branch into position, it holds its position.

Aluminum wire is soft, but it doesn’t work harden. So, it doesn’t hold very well. It’s easy to apply, but often, the branch can return to its prior position. So, heavier wire is necessary to achieve the same result as a thinner copper wire can do.
 
I like the idea of DIY annealing wire. A great way for hobbies to fight back against the over-pricing of tools and pots because they have the word "bonsai" in front of the description. Paying $50 for some wire that should cost $10, and $200 for a pot that cost the same in materials of a $20 pot. What a rip-off.
 
Well then, thanks guys!
 
Yea I burned the layer off, next time I will strip it first.
the braided wire I will have topull apart and re anneal. I’ll cut the 20 rfoot strips into shorter lengths first. It’s actuallyvery fun. And it had rained for the past few day’s so it was very messy
 
RNbonsai said:
Yea I burned the layer off, next time I will strip it first.
the braided wire I will have topull apart and re anneal. I’ll cut the 20 rfoot strips into shorter lengths first. It’s actuallyvery fun. And it had rained for the past few day’s so it was very messy
Click to expand...
I think the pros do something like wind the unannealed wire around a coffee can to make manageable spools, tie them with little bits of copper, and anneal the spools.
 
RNbonsai said:
To advise other newbies- bigger wire requires a bigger fire. Not hotter, but wider. Had to shoot from the hip and burn alittle grass
Click to expand...
Good job on the annealing! I have to ask......….were you prior Army?
 
Looks good. I don't know if you know this, but to get the softest wire, known as 'dead soft', you have to quench it in cold water when the wire gets to the right temperature, a dull red glow that's a bit faint. However, just getting it red hot will work as long as its not too hot. This is the same basic procedure for copper and silver and gold alloys (a few others too).
I've done a lot of metalwork, so it's pretty easy by now, but with a bit of practice you'll notice a difference.
 
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