Please help, I can't solder a reticulated ring!!

[Christina Ecco]

Hello!

I'm trying to solder a simple ring made from 4mm x 1.5mm sterling sheet which I have reticulated. But it will not solder!!! Can anyone think of any reason for this? It has now happened with two rings.......(i have succesfully soldered non reticulated rings using the exact same materials in the meantime).
Sterling sheet and hard solder both from Cookson's, I've tried with borax and oroflux, neither work. The solder melts but runs along the top of the ring, one side of the join. The join is very tight but as I heat it it looks like it expands fractionally. Once cool it closes again. Huh?

Any help would be much appreciated : )

[Goldsmith]

If the joint is opening, that is your problem as solder will not fill gaps. Make sure the joints are clean and fluxed before closing, then either use binding wire or clamps to hold the ring joint together, then heat the ring evenly before concentrating the heat on the solder joint. If you cannot use binding wire on the ring shape then make some clamps.

This type of clamp system may work for you;
7364

James

[Christina Ecco]

Thank you james, I'll try the binding wire. Any insight into why this is only happening with the reticulated rings? The joins are initially just as tight as when I'm soldering a plain ring. Could it be the initial heating to cause the reticulation that is changing the structure of the metal?

[BarryM]

When you create the reticulation you end up with two layers of metal, fine silver over sterling. If these have different coefficients of expansion then when you heat the ring it will bend the metal a fraction and open the joint. This is a possible cause, i know a bit about metallurgy but i am no expert jeweller.


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[Christina Ecco]

Barry, thank you, that sounds very convincing and makes me feel a bit better : )) I truly thought my days of soldering issues were behind me.......I guess there's always gong to be something!

[Dennis]

I truly thought my days of soldering issues were behind me.......I guess there's always gong to be something!

Yes each instance has to be considered in its own right. For example you could now solder your binding wire to the ring.

You can avoid wire contacting solder by tying it across the ring, but it might keep slipping as you tighten it. Alternatively you can make a bridge by placing the legs of a partly opened cotter pin on each side of the join and tying the wire around the ring.

Dennis

[metalsmith]

Hello!

I'm trying to solder a simple ring made from 4mm x 1.5mm sterling sheet which I have reticulated. But it will not solder!!! ...The join is very tight but as I heat it it looks like it expands fractionally. Once cool it closes again. Huh?



I've had similar trouble recently with a ring that was depleted but not reticulated - but the join was tight.

Start by making sure the close is under tension i.e. pulling the ring together.

Appreciating that the ring is probably to size, you could try running a piercing saw down the join. Granted, this is a basic, but it will help on two fronts - first removing any reticulated surface irregularities that may be stopping the ring fully closing and secondly (as if it should make any difference) will present 2 sterling faces to be joined. A third basic, just to make sure it is covered, is heating the ring uniformly, run the torch all around the ring so that it expands evenly then focus the heat in the middle, to bring the whole item up to temperature. Don't just focus the heat on the join and particularly - not directly on the solder.

The solder ran the wrong way on the ring I had. I opened the pre-tensioned ring (sideways like a jump ring) and made sure that *only* the two faces to be joined were fluxed, then closed the ring again. The solder then only really has the option of running down the join. Of course it runs towards the torch, so have the pallion on the periphery of the ring and heat the centre.

Sorry if you're doing a lot of these things already, but I'm just wanting to make sure you're not missing something.

[art925]

Hello!

I'm trying to solder a simple ring made from 4mm x 1.5mm sterling sheet which I have reticulated. But it will not solder!!! Can anyone think of any reason for this? It has now happened with two rings.......(i have succesfully soldered non reticulated rings using the exact same materials in the meantime).
Sterling sheet and hard solder both from Cookson's, I've tried with borax and oroflux, neither work. The solder melts but runs along the top of the ring, one side of the join. The join is very tight but as I heat it it looks like it expands fractionally. Once cool it closes again. Huh?

Any help would be much appreciated : )

It is also worth remembering that the metal is very porous after reticulation, so a little extra solder may be required.