1. 

   sunshineindustries
   January 3rd, 2013 - 19:56

   I have tried argentium and it’s wonderful for fusing and non-tarnish ear wires… I was wondering if you can reticulate argentium sheet, or does reticulation rely on the fire scale?
2. 

   Sessin1@
   January 4th, 2013 - 19:55

   Hi there! This is Sessin from Rio’s tech team. I think I made up a new word and technique for Argentium called ‘Shrinkulation.’ This was my first try so I am by no means an expert at Shrinkulation.
   1) I did no prior preparation, just took a piece of 24-gauge argentium sheet (1″x 2″) out of my stash and placed it onto a solderite pad.
   2) I used a Smith Silversmith torch with #2 tip and set the regulator at 15 lbs. of pressure.
   3) Then I heated the item until red and held the torch about 8″ away from the piece so the brushy end of the tip was doing the heating. I held it at red heat for about 3 minutes, then came in closer and it started shrinking in. It did not really reticulate like standard reticulation metal does. It was slower and unpredictable. It would not shrink or wrinkle in the center, just on the outer edges.
   I would only recommend trying this with scrap pieces as you may ruin a lot of good sheet.

   

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