Keum Boo hotplate

[Victoria]

Hello
I'm interested in having a go at Keum Boo. I've had a look around the forum and found some really useful advice and a link to where I can buy a relatively inexpensive small piece to start with (the PMC studio, for anyone else searching for this)

One quick question I'm hoping for help with - do I really need to spend £60 on a Keum Boo hotplate?? (apparently I'm not allowed to post links until I've made 5 posts, but they're £60 on the PMC Studio website)

...can I just heat the silver and gold foil with a torch on a solder block? Or perhaps placing my piece on a bit of copper and heating from underneath? Or some other cheaper alternative?! I can buy camping style hot plates for about £30 - could that work?

Sorry if these are silly questions!

Thanks
Victoria

[ps_bond]

I think this is the one I've got -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James.../dp/B004BLYYJW

I used to use a gas burner with a slab of steel on it, but the flames around the edge of the slab singed the hair off my fingers, which got a bit uncomfortable.

[Victoria]

Perfect, thanks Peter! It's great to be able to try something before spending a fortune on equipment!

V

[Dennis]

Peter's link seems a jolly good bargain, but if you don't want to spend anything at all then an ordinary iron, clamped upside down in a vice or some sort of cradle will do it. You get the advantage of temperature control to experiment with, Dennis.

[MeadMoon]

What a brilliant idea Dennis. I must try that. Now all I need is some gold

[silken]

Ooooh! Dennis, that iron idea is fab. I was thinking about buying a basic electric hob like Peter suggested but I have about 4 irons that I don't even use. Gosh...I really don't know why I have 4 irons...oh well, they can now be re-purposed and keum boo hotplates

[Wallace]

I have a travel iron I use for PnP - dedicated for the work-house, erm I mean work room. Travel iron does get nice and hot like a standard one and there is less risk of it falling out of the vice and creating a groove on the carpet. However, I have found (prior to getting a smaller travel iron) if you move the table / bench around it can create a nice pattern on the old carpet!