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Questions and Answers
How do I get peaks and valleys when reticulating silver on copper?
“Before I try for the 5th or 6th time can you please tell me why I am not achieving the peaks as in the video? Rather I’m getting holes in the copper and a flat spread of silver. My soldering area is very similar to the one in the video. My fuel is acetylene and i’m using a smith torch with #3 tip. I’ve duplicated Sugar’s demonstration. Same size silver scraps, copper etc.”
Answer
I think you are overheating it. Also, the thicker the metal, the bigger the peaks. Try just heating until you get melt. Try making differently sized piles of silver scrap or using different gauges – the thickness will affect how it looks. Also, try moving the torch around. Do a test piece and watch how the metal moves in reaction to the heat from the torch. I try to melt wire and still keep it looking like wire, I’ve found, it’s about control and getting the heat out of there in time. Try heating from one end only and see what happens, then try another side. Also, put the metal on an enameling trivet or screen so you can heat from behind, observe how that changes the look. Experiment, experiment, experiment.
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