[Jewelry making - Article 00304] - Re: [Orchid] Frustrated reticulation & fusing

[Gail Middleton]

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    Dear Sue, As far as reticulating sterling, you have to anneal the
    sheet a number of times (at least 6 as I've read in a few books) to
    build up a layer of fine silver on the surface of the sheet.
    Subsequently, reticulation will occur as you heat the sheet and the
    inner layer of sterling (which has a lower melting point than the
    fine  silver on the surface) is brought to its melting point. The
    metals cool at differing rates and causes the surface to ripple.
    It's not easy to control, but is fascinating to watch. "The complete
    Metalsmith" by Tim McCreight, and "The Design and Creation of
    Jewelry" by Robert Von Neumann both cover reticulation, both gold
    and silver, in detail. I can't help you with the fusing as I've only
    done that by accident (except for fine silver granulation), but the
    topic is also covered in McCreight's book. 

Gail Middleton


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