Annealing Copper Wire

[tkroeker]

great answers guys. My brother did a great deal of bonsai and I got that from him but as I was reading before I asked, it sounded different. This is spot on what I thought and what I needed to know. THANKS !!

 

[RNbonsai]

Thumbless I have for years annealed my own wire that I have left over from job sites etc. and have never experienced a hard spot. I take the bare wire (often having to strip insulation from wire first}) I roll it into a coil similar to how its sold. I roll mine the diameter of the burner on our gas stove, I start the fire and lay the coil with a pliers over the fire until it glows red then I lift it off with the pliers and dump it in the waiting water filled sink. The wire comes out a pretty orange color and is soft until bent into position. I have did this on my charcoal grill too, I read that it can be done by coiling the wire around a roll of newspaper. I do NOT suggest that route as its near impossible to control and even grab with the pliers as flames are shooting everywhere.

ed

This is a bit of a throwback, but in a bonsai life it’s not. I’ve done this method over backyard fire with a hot bed of coals. Th picture is what most of them look like.

 

[ShadyStump]

This is a bit of a throwback, but in a bonsai life it’s not. I’ve done this method over backyard fire with a hot bed of coals. Th picture is what most of them look like.View attachment 487157

This is what I usually get, too. I've been trying to figure out how to get better coloring at home.
Tried to build a wood fired kiln to heat the wire more evenly, which came out better, but never results that justified the effort.

I've gotten a nice even surface color by placing coils under the broiler in my oven, but it won't soften the copper. I'm considering annealing over fire, then pickling the annealed wire to return it to a shine, then under the broiler to finish. Just seems like a lot of work.