Reticulation Tutorial | 12 Months Of Metal

Kim Thomson shares a brilliant tutorial on how to reticulate metal - a great way to add texture to your jewellery designs.
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[@barbaras.7135]

Wow! You are awesome. Thank you for your tutorials.

[@laydestone2051]

😱😱copper reticulation ❤ Kim thanks for sharing all this techniques, your tutorials are so clear and easy to follow 🙏your work is much appreciated

[@jettevittrup9935]

Really great tutorial, Thank you! 😊

[@stationaryenginesworldwide]

Such a great video thank you!

[@mikecampbell1829]

Kim, great job of showing how this process works. I have taught jewelry at my high school in Spokane, WA, USA for 30 years and shown my students how this process works after they understand the annealing process. in the past I have used it to teach them how to control the heat of their torch - knowing full well there will be some partial melting of the pieces at times, but showing them it's ok. It's part of the serendipity of the process. During this time of "stay home, stay healthy" because of the pandemic public schools in my state are closed, and I can't show them in person, so I am directing them to this video to see how it's done.

[@kernowcraft]

Brilliant Mike, thank you!

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Thank you Mike, that's lovely to hear :) I have family near in Woodinville, WA and I was asked to make my cousin an alternative class ring when she graduated High School. It was the first I'd ever heard of class rings and a privilege to work on.

[@kristibbradshaw]

Beautiful!!!!

[@clairesommersbuck4057]

Very helpful & informative. Thank you!!

[@mikema9311]

Thorough presentation

[@tammygurl64]

Very good demo and explanation! 👍 Thanks! Will definitely check look for the copper video.😊

[@timg6518]

The first time I reticulated silver it was an accident, and now I know how it works and why and how to control it,,cheers

[@juliew1426]

I was just thinking, that this "method" was probably an accident in the first place. It looks pretty cool, but it's so much work! I would rather cast a mold of a branch or something. I'm a bit lazy, I suppose.

[@philipwells5108]

Hi Kim , this is a great video , thanks ! I made my own reticulation alloy , as you say , the effects are much more dramatic , but it is a lot of work ! Satisfying though ! Phil , in New Zealand

[@bls924]

Thank you for the GREAT video explaining reticulation. You explained it so well, covering so many details. And, I love your little Sibley torch with the pinpoint flame, do you know where I can buy one?

[@Rita-oh9bk]

Really enjoyed that! I have a much better understanding of why, which is how my brain works :) I have a couple questions. Would I cut the shape from the sheet before or after reticulation. A heart, for example. I understand there is shrinkage. And will solder look ok if, say, I'm soldering a silver earring post to reticulated wire or a jump ring to it? New at this. Thanks, Rita

[@sheena8869]

A lot of work! More than I thought. Love the effect, but pickling really is my least favourite thing to do😖.

[@kimthomson400]

How come? Have you used @kernowcraft pickle, warmed up? It's really quick and safe compared to lots of other cleaning methods :)

[@sheena8869]

@@kimthomson400 i use alum, in my slowcooker on high it takes three quarters of a hour to get hot enough to work

[@101mosioatunya]

Excellent tutorial which answered all my questions without my having to ask them, for example: Why not start with fine silver? Because it's too pure and, I would imagine, would melt altogether too easily? That copper worked well, though :-)

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Thanks Hilary! The brass has become a firm favorite to reticulate too :)

[@tammygurl64]

@@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126 Do you not have problems with brass? I saw a video where someone demonstrated what happens if you heat brass too long after it melts.... it explodes!! Of course, it was just a brass ball they made from melting the brass. I just wondered since you're melting brass to get this effect if you've experienced brass explosions?

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Hi @@tammygurl64 no, we haven't had any issues but then reticulation is done at a far lower temperature in a slow and controlled manner. Any metal can explode when exposed to sudden, extreme changes in temperature. Which is why, when casting it's important to preheat your ingot moulds. I never melt brass to cast it, partlt due to the amount of heat required and partly due to the zinc fumes it would give off. When retuculating, you only just push it past the annealing temperature as 'melting' it too much would lose your structure and like you said, turn it into a molten ball. So I think with good ventilation it's fine to do but if people were working with larger amounts for any prolonged period if time, you'd definitely want a good fume mask and/or extraction unit. And obviously eye protection as always.

[@stephengratton2294]

Many thanks for the brilliant video Kim. Just a few questions. Do you form the metal into the required shape first and then reticulate? Are there any problems with soldering once the silver is reticulated? When you made the reticulated ring in what order is the the forming, soldering and reticulation?

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Hi Stephen, glad you liked it. Normally you need to reticulate first, then form your metal, then solder it. If you reticulate after forming, there is a very high chance of the metal collapsing or developing holes where the flame burns through the entire sheet. The exclusion to that is Kernowcrafts reticulation sheet. It is a specially prepared mix of silvers which reticulate in a very controlled manner the first time you heat it and it can be formed before reticulating while still being able to hold it's shape. The selling point is it's very reliable, there is no prep required and it is structurally stronger. The downside is you pay considerably more for those privileges compared to standard sterling silver or brass. Metal can be more porus after reticulating so sometimes you need to use more solder than you would usually use but other than that, there are generally no issues soldering reticulated metal. Hope that helps :)

[@HB-jw1ye]

Great video, thanks. Anyone know where can I get the cone shaped seive thats in the pickle warmer (bottlewarmer) that’s used in the video?

[@sarahlondono4998]

Great tutorial! I can’t wait to try it! I have one question, I will order a brass brush, however what can I use to clean the silver until I have one? Would it be ok to use fine steel wool or fine sandpaper?

[@kernowcraft]

Steel wool would work great too 😊

[@OAikoT]

I'm guessing Kim that its not possible to do this technique using argentium silver? It's one of the main metals I work with, I also work with fine silver since I find them so lovely and unique to work with and so many jewellers just refuse to use it, even argentium silver. Another reason I love them btw is because there are some people who have very strong allergy to non noble metals, like my aunt who gets rash and red skin even from sterling silver so I made something form fine silver for her and she didn't have any problems with it. :)

[@SC-rb2jr]

Thanks for the very helpful video. How does the process work on pure copper when you don’t have a different surface composition when compared with the core. Is this just the copper melting and being moved by the force of the flame?

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Yes I would imagine so but the back of the piece still stayed relatively flat and the surface seemed robust (no obvious air pockets or soft areas). I have no idea why it worked because like you said, it shouldn't have and I primarily started the copper sample to show it wouldn't work as it's a pure metal. It was a happy and unexpected accident :)

[@AGlassBash]

So your pottery pots work well all the time for use? They look beautiful in the video. Is that a coffee pot filter in your pickle pot?? The scrubbing with a brush is important? Will it mess up the process if it's not scrubbed?

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

I've had my ceramic pots for years. They are rejects from pottery students at the adult education centre I teach at but I love them so my house and studio are full of wonky pots 😁 The plastic thing is a tea strainer. Not essential it just helps fish tiny bits of metal back out. The brass brush isn't essential either. It just helps speed up the process of removing copper from the metals surface. You could sand it between annealing instead.

[@anthonyphippard4706]

For the ring, did you reticulated the ring did you do it befor you formed the band or after? Thanks Kim.

[@mikema9311]

I have fused pure silver over dirty copper..reticulation doesn’t take as much expense and silver will follow torch..sometimes you get variable colours I.e shibuichi pinks etc..all play and fun. Learned the technique from Nancylthamilton.com. Thanks for your lesson. My old teacher Olga Hecel used the old techniques as you prescrbed for fusion. She also used 2 torches as I remembered because I was holding the other torch..bye

[@user-tb3ij8rj1r]

Hi Kim! Do I treat the reticulated piece normally as in punch a hole, hammer, file etc? I just made a beautiful piece but tiptoeing around it fearing I might break it

[@kimthomson400]

In theory yes but you're right, it can end up very brittle if it's been overheated during the reticulation process.

[@romasgerasimenko1935]

if i want recticulate 14k pink gold on 925 silver sheet compeletly same process?just put gold scrap on gilded for examlpe (Reticulated and gilded silver sheet?)

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Hi Romas, I'm not sure if you mean silver that's been gold plated or adhered like with Keum-boo or if you mean a thicker piece of gold that's been soldered or fused onto the silver. If you mean a very thin layer of gold, I would expect it would become absorbed into the silver and you would no longer be able to see it. If you mean a thicker piece that's soldered, one of my students had lovely results reticulating silver that had pieces of copper soldered onto it before reticulating.

[@LPKristinaV]

Hi, can you acheve this effect with a self made Pickle (white distilled vinagre and salt, in a crockpot) :)

[@kimthomson400]

Yes, no problem :)

[@edinsonariasquintero6130]

Muchas gracias por compartir la bendición del Padre del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo estén en tu vida y todos los tuyos gracias buen día bendiciones ❤😂😊😊😮

[@flyingcheff]

How do you avoid firescale during retic?

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Hi, the typical understanding in the UK is firescale = the dark marks left behind on the surface of the metal which you usually remove with pickle. Firestain is the purplish stain you can sometimes see under the surface of the metal when it has been overheated and it's a pain to remove. With firestain, you can't really avoid it when reticulating but the textured surface hides it. Firestain is usually only a problem on smooth metal.

[@denisaunerismoya2465]

Como se traduce al español, en esta red social ??

[@makeitwithkim-jewellerysil3126]

Puede cambiar el idioma de los subtítulos en la configuración de CC en la parte inferior de la pantalla de video.