Anealing Nickel Silver

[Powderhorn]

All right guys, I have mainly worked with Sterling Silver, Gold, and can do most anything I want to with it. But now I have started using Nickel Silver, Question??? How do you aneal it??? Tried to do it like silver, and it did not work worth a hoot.

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Hi Powderhorn,

Hmmm (scratch scratch) ... did you take it to 1400 degrees then quench in water?

If it's got something other than copper and nickel then that might be the problem. Sometimes there is some iron (making it Monel) or a higher percentage of tin or zinc which will make it difficult to anneal.

Chris

 

[mtgraver]

Hey Powderhorn,
I also work a lot in silver, and brass........nickel silver. If using rolled sheet stock then anneal it like brass, bring to dull red (visible) then quench, if using old spoons or cast stock will crumble if done like brass. As in Brass, quench while still visibly red heat in a natural ligh or darkened area to easier see the color. Actually not real sure if cast nickel silver can be annealed the same as rolled sheet. I used some old spoons to make a wind chime for an old friend many years ago, after I'd quenched then started to hammer, the material crumbled, but then again I wasn't sure of the content of the material under the silver plating, just assumed it was German silver aka nickel silver.
Good luck,
Mark
www.MarkThomas-graver.com

 

[Brian Marshall]

Personally, I am not fond of the metal, only using it when I absolutely have to - for buckle findings & such.

In our studios nickel silver is NEVER quenched. Quenching improperly can actually harden the metal, resulting in stress cracks or fractures when the metal is drawn, bent, formed, or forged. This also applies to white gold alloys containing nickel.

We use separate pickle pots designated for nickel only - containing a pickle formulated especially for nickel.

There was a study done 5 or 10 years back and the results showed that 60 to 70% of the people who participated - showed an allergy or at least some sensitivity to skin contact with nickel bearing alloys - so we try to discourage its use if the product will come into contact with with skin.

Most countries outside of the U.S. have banned it's use in white gold jewelry alloys. Naturally, we will be the last one to do away with it...

Rhodium plating over white nickel bearing white gold alloys has become EXTREMELY expensive. We changed over to a white palladium/gold alloy which is non allergenic 6 or 7 years ago.


Brian Marshall
Stockton Jewelry Arts School
Stockton, CA USA 95209
209-477-0550
instructor@jewelryartschool.com

 

[Christopher Malouf]

Brian, regarding the quenching in water ... there seems to be a lot of conflicting information. Is sheet handled differently???


If not ... I wonder why these folks over at the knife network forum put this in one of their tutorials?? ...

http://www.knifenetwork.com/workshop/tut_metal_sheath_evans.shtml


btw ... I'm not trying to challenge your expertise on this. It's just that the different info "out there" is, well ... different and I don't wanna pass on this misinformation again.

----

Hey Keykeeper .... if you are reading this then you know what we'll be stuffing into your forge this weekend

 

[Brian Marshall]

Chris,

In my work - all that counts are the results. 30 years ago, we used to quench the stuff (sheet). We had a lot of the problems I listed above. In a word - "rejects".

Could have been that the apprentices and bench workers quenched too hot. Could have been the moon was in the wrong phase... I dunno for sure.

We were doing hundreds, maybe thousands of nickle silver and hand engraved bridle/halter buckles, trim, and saddle trim at that time. (Horncaps, cantle plates, corner plates, conchas, etc.)

I told them to stop quenching and see what happened. We never had problems after that - so it is has become standard practice in the studios ever since.

I'm sure that there are also many variations in the nickel alloys, and I've no idea what ours was that many years ago - just that quenching it did not work well for us.

Try it. Just let the stuff air cool. Can't hurt to do it on a piece of scrap and see if it works for you...


Brian

P.S. And yes, I am aware of the practice of quenching white gold/nickel alloys (and red gold) in alcohol. I might do it myself at my own bench. But with students at our soldering benches I considered it wiser to limit the amount of open containers of flamables... We already have them setting the containers of boricacid/alcohol on fire often enough.

 

[RoycroftRon]

$.02

I use nickle silver only as a flat detail, or when I need the springyness after soldering (for spring hinges and the like). Even when annnealed the stuff is usually pretty rigid and workhardens faster then brass.

I too let it cool rather then quench if I want it to be soft.

 

[Powderhorn]

Chris, Brian, Mtgraver, roycrofton:
Thank you for the replys, It gave me the info I needed.
What I was up to, was to take Nickel Silver wire, twist it, then run it thru a rolling mill, to change the pattern, and use for a buckle edge. After twisting, I had got it to anneal enoughf to get it thru the mill, however, it came out of the mill about like a piece of coil spring steel. Tried to anneal, and get it straighted out. After getting it straightend out, it had work hardened again, and is to stiff to form to the buckle. I am consigning this one to the "don't do that" list.