Annealing it means, you have taken the hardness out of it. You can heat it in the oven but, let it cool off slowly! If you put it in water or Anything it puts the hardness back in it. Shaping it will put enough hardness back in it so don't worry.
I have tried making coin rings *without* annealing and it does work, but annealing often makes the metal softer. Heating w/ quick immersion into cool water if I am not mistaken, creates a 'case-hardened' metal which means the exterior material is made 'hardened' while the interior is 'softer.'
If the metal were to be heated slowly and allowed to cool in *hot sand* for an extended period of time (say, 12-24 hours as it gradually cools) the result is a super-hard metal through & through. Most cheap pocket knives are 'case-hardened' which means yes, they are sharp BUT if you like to sharpen your blade on a whet stone, you eventually grind-thru the 'case hardened' layer and suddenly the knife won't keep its sharpness...
The other hardening, -the slow-cooling in HOT sand, is called 'through-hardening' and for applications where stress is involved, is unsuitable. A gun barrel for example if 'through-hardened' would not absorb the shock of the bullet and would tend to crack, being 'solid hard' and thus more brittle. ...
For whatever this is worth, I have tried heating my coins red hot and NOT cooling them but instead, placing them directly onto my mandrel and hammering with the plastic hammer. Apart of a bit of smoking and melting of the hammer's contact surface, I found virtually no additional ease of bending the coin into the desired shape. I only briefly experimented with the 'hot-bend' method and found it not satisfactory for me, so I 'anneal' to case-hardened.
Curious....Have you ever tried to make them without annealing? How much easier to work with did annealing make it? I make rings almost every day and I have never annealed the coins as I use silver and I dont necessarily know if it would apply. My rings usually have the original aged toning that I want to leave intact and I would be afraid to heat them up.
i have tried making them without annealing, but i find that it just makes moving the metal way easier for me. i'm pretty petite and don't really have the physique of a blacksmith per se haha, so i always try to make everything as easy as possible for myself. it is an extra step though and it will destroy any natural patina.
i would think that there would also a fairly discernible difference between working with the silver rings VS the more recent copper rings, but i don't use silver ones so i'm not positive on that. i just know annealed copper is way way softer than work-hardened silver ;)
Cool... Maybe silver quarters picked up off of feebay may be easier to work without annealing....I sure wish I could anneal mine but I would rather not risk it. Here it an example of what I do.....just thought I would share.
Holy Crap!!! Ok, I realize that you promised your Grandpappy that, and I respect that, but how about instead of telling HIS secret, try to adapt the method into something else and tell us THAT method instead of HIS. Ex. Deep Fried Corn Original- Coat in butter and deep fry at 450 Adapted- deep fry at 200, coat in butter, deep fry again at 450 ...just a thought...
BTW that Deep Fried Corn I just made up, it`s not a actual recipe...duh...
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60 Comments
Hitmangordo 9 years ago
Annealing it means, you have taken the hardness out of it. You can heat it in the oven but, let it cool off slowly! If you put it in water or Anything it puts the hardness back in it. Shaping it will put enough hardness back in it so don't worry.
PattyP17 6 years ago
A home oven does not heat to a high enough temp to anneal metals. I am a trained silversmith.
Helenkathleen 8 years ago
TorontoJoel 8 years ago
I have tried making coin rings *without* annealing and it does work, but annealing often makes the metal softer. Heating w/ quick immersion into cool water if I am not mistaken, creates a 'case-hardened' metal which means the exterior material is made 'hardened' while the interior is 'softer.'
If the metal were to be heated slowly and allowed to cool in *hot sand* for an extended period of time (say, 12-24 hours as it gradually cools) the result is a super-hard metal through & through. Most cheap pocket knives are 'case-hardened' which means yes, they are sharp BUT if you like to sharpen your blade on a whet stone, you eventually grind-thru the 'case hardened' layer and suddenly the knife won't keep its sharpness...
The other hardening, -the slow-cooling in HOT sand, is called 'through-hardening' and for applications where stress is involved, is unsuitable. A gun barrel for example if 'through-hardened' would not absorb the shock of the bullet and would tend to crack, being 'solid hard' and thus more brittle. ...
For whatever this is worth, I have tried heating my coins red hot and NOT cooling them but instead, placing them directly onto my mandrel and hammering with the plastic hammer. Apart of a bit of smoking and melting of the hammer's contact surface, I found virtually no additional ease of bending the coin into the desired shape. I only briefly experimented with the 'hot-bend' method and found it not satisfactory for me, so I 'anneal' to case-hardened.
earl.a.lester 9 years ago
when usening quarter with copper what do you coat coin so not to turn finger green
hosannajoker 9 years ago
I've used clear nail polish on mine, works pretty well and doesn't change the appearance of ring.
earl.a.lester 9 years ago
i also found a set of punch set and doming block to start the fold of the coin
hassin16 10 years ago
jmwssmw 10 years ago
Can you please provide me with a list of all the tools and items you used to make this ring? THANKS!
Mayneric 10 years ago
mr.coinring 14 years ago
I make rings almost every day and I have never annealed the coins as I use silver and I dont necessarily know if it would apply.
My rings usually have the original aged toning that I want to leave intact and I would be afraid to heat them up.
metalsmitten 14 years ago
i would think that there would also a fairly discernible difference between working with the silver rings VS the more recent copper rings, but i don't use silver ones so i'm not positive on that. i just know annealed copper is way way softer than work-hardened silver ;)
mr.coinring 14 years ago
Maybe silver quarters picked up off of feebay may be easier to work without annealing....I sure wish I could anneal mine but I would rather not risk it.
Here it an example of what I do.....just thought I would share.
saosport 11 years ago
HoboPhil 13 years ago
Ok, I realize that you promised your Grandpappy that, and I respect that, but how about instead of telling HIS secret, try to adapt the method into something else and tell us THAT method instead of HIS.
Ex. Deep Fried Corn
Original- Coat in butter and deep fry at 450
Adapted- deep fry at 200, coat in butter, deep fry again at 450
...just a thought...
BTW that Deep Fried Corn I just made up, it`s not a actual recipe...duh...
The laser guy 13 years ago
Rainh2o 13 years ago
mr.coinring 13 years ago
crazyg 13 years ago
PAWZ 13 years ago