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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips |
2008-10-25, 4:19pm
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Yeller Rose
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Join Date: Aug 31, 2005
Location: Lufkin, TX 75901
Posts: 865
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What to do with silver scrap?
What do you do with your silver scrap? I have sterling silver scrap left over from jewelry making. I used to throw it away, then a silversmith friend asked me to bring it in to her. Once a year she sends all her scrap to a recycler. Mine was about 6oz and hers was pounds. She got a nice chunk of change. What do you do? Can it be melted into a casting? Barb
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Barb Wolf
Lufkin, TX
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2008-10-25, 4:21pm
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Entropy increasing....
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Join Date: Nov 12, 2005
Location: In a box of paints
Posts: 25,098
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It can be melted and casted, why not? It's silver.
I know Rio takes it back and credits you for it.
I can't believe you were just throwing it away.
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"I am an artist… I am here to live out loud." Emile Zola
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2008-10-25, 5:32pm
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Ezzy
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Join Date: Sep 14, 2006
Posts: 2,020
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevan
I know Rio takes it back and credits you for it.
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That's great to know, thanks for the tip, Kevan.
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2008-10-25, 5:48pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 31, 2007
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
Posts: 219
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Rio will reclaim it and give you 65% of the value as cash or 75% as company credit... but, I would hold off on sending it in right now because the precious metal market has dropped hugely in the past couple months so silver is worth about half of what it was a year ago.
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2008-10-25, 6:23pm
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Uh-oh means it's too late
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Join Date: May 23, 2007
Location: South Florida
Posts: 2,527
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There was a show I watched and the artist took his silver scrap and made a "crucible" on one of his fire bricks and loaded it down with scrap, I can't remember if it needed flux or not but he took his torch and melted it down he then took different size dapping dies and used them to make "cups" then he added pearls or gemstones to the cups I think that it was a great way to make a unique bezel. Have Fun!!!
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2008-10-25, 6:30pm
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Ass-kicking Cephalopod
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Join Date: Jun 19, 2006
Location: Duh, Squidville
Posts: 9,523
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SunDoorBeads
There was a show I watched and the artist took his silver scrap and made a "crucible" on one of his fire bricks and loaded it down with scrap, I can't remember if it needed flux or not but he took his torch and melted it down he then took different size dapping dies and used them to make "cups" then he added pearls or gemstones to the cups I think that it was a great way to make a unique bezel. Have Fun!!!
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I saw that same show and it was very cool! I don't recall him using flux I don't think- just melted it into the little cavity in his firebrick.
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DOG is my co-pilot
Cricket w/two 5 lpm oxycons - and sometimes a Minor.
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2008-10-25, 6:42pm
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Cancer SUCKS!
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Join Date: Oct 23, 2005
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 5,083
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What you probably saw them add was Borax. You add the borax so that the impurities stick to the borax, leaving you with a cleaner casting.
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Deb in MN
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2008-10-25, 6:55pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jun 18, 2005
Location: NE Indiana
Posts: 5,565
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My mom used to do drop castings all the time. Sometimes gold, usually silver. She often set the gold ones with a diamond. The silver ones tended to be left plain.
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~Nancy
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2008-10-25, 8:25pm
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Uh-oh means it's too late
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Join Date: May 23, 2007
Location: South Florida
Posts: 2,527
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I miss that show, Squid I can't find it on anymore . I am glad to see I am not the only couch potato
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2008-10-26, 1:43pm
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Ass-kicking Cephalopod
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Join Date: Jun 19, 2006
Location: Duh, Squidville
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SunDoorBeads
I miss that show, Squid I can't find it on anymore . I am glad to see I am not the only couch potato
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Fortunately, I don't have to be a couch potato to watch it - I have DVR
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2008-10-26, 11:13pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 08, 2005
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 213
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I've seen a few listings selling silver scrap on Ebay.
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2008-10-27, 4:06am
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Formerly Deesigned Beads
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Join Date: Aug 29, 2006
Location: Cape town, South Africa
Posts: 612
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Or alternatively you can collect you scrap (not dust and saw filings) and take it to a manufacturing gold/silver smith, and ask them to melt it for you, and either put it through a rolling mill for plate, or to draw wire from it. they would be able to give it back to you as dead soft, or hard, depending if they annealed it for you at the end of the process. Ask them to put it in their acid to clean it up. All you need to do with the wire then, is to gently polish it to get it shiny before you work with it. Remember that to much rubbing would harden it again.
I melt all my silver scraps and save the shavings/sawblades/moore disks/sandpaper/etc that I used while silversmithing, and sent it for refining when I have enough collected.
Bottom line is that everything that you used while working the silver collects silver dust on it, which could be refined back to silver again. Our refinary reclains old x ray plates to collect silver.
Regards
Diana
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Diana
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2008-10-27, 12:23pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 03, 2006
Location: San Francisco Peninsula, CA
Posts: 1,034
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I sent my scrap to these guys - www.midwestrefineries.com. They gave me about 90% of the day's value for my silver.
-Diane
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-Diane
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2008-10-27, 3:04pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Nov 23, 2007
Location: Portland OR
Posts: 1,332
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Rather than mailing it off, try some place local first. Some of the local coin shops in my area will buy silver scrap for the day's trade rate, and I don't have to spend on postage.
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~Jenny
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"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; in practice there is." ~ Chuck Reid
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2008-10-30, 4:03pm
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I know, I can't spell
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Join Date: Mar 27, 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,238
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When I was in metalsmithing we would use it for casting or like afore mentioned remelting it to get the silver into a wire or sheet metal again. Just different cruicbles used for either wire or sheet metal.
Same thing can be done with gold too, and you can mix the metals together to get different metals for what you want to work with. Just make sure you know what parts to mix together to get your specific metal.
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Aleina
Coe 104, Lynx Torch, concentraitor
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2008-10-30, 4:10pm
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Entropy increasing....
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Join Date: Nov 12, 2005
Location: In a box of paints
Posts: 25,098
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I saw an article in Lapidary Jewelry magazine, I think they changed the name to Jewelry Arts or something, about broom casting. You make these little bits to use in abstract jewelry by pouring melted silver into the end of a broom.
Here's an article.
http://users.frii.com/dnorris/dec99tip.html
Oh here's a better one.
http://www.amfed.org/efmls/broomc5.pdf
And there is also cuttle bone casting, but you have to buy cuttle bones. Not that they are hard to buy or expensive. You get this
neat kind of texture with cuttlebone.
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"I am an artist… I am here to live out loud." Emile Zola
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2008-10-30, 5:18pm
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offically down under
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Join Date: Dec 22, 2005
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 3,131
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I just took in 125 grams to my supplier and they gave me A$61. I told them to check because it was too much and they smiled and said don't worry.
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Tammy
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