For a while I have been considering purchasing a heated pickle tank. For the unfamiliar, a heated pickle tank keeps your acid or safety pickle warm/hot to aid the removal of oxides from precious metals after heating or soldering. They are very handy as a warm pickle will work much faster than cold, speeding up your work.
The thing about them is, they're expensive. I recently discovered a cheaper alternative of a baby's bottle/food warmer. If this is used with a small Pyrex beaker (try ebay), it provides a perfectly suitable solution for smaller amounts of jewellery to be pickled. You must keep an eye on the temperature and as always with corrosive substances, be careful.
How did I discover this? I'm expecting to become a dad for the second time shortly and my wife and I have been bringing out all the baby paraphenalia. I had to do a quick soldering job and was just about to make up a new batch of pickle with hot water when I spotted the warmer on the side and decided it would be a good idea. My wife disagrees! After an ear bending I've decided to use it when she's not around!
Hopefully I will be able to give you some other ideas at different stages.
Take care,
Damian
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