# Silver melt



## joem (Oct 6, 2013)

I melted this in a graphite mold


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## Smack (Oct 6, 2013)

Kind of looks like Wilson from Cast Away. Wilsooonnn!


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## joem (Oct 6, 2013)

Yeah it does, eh?
It's up for auction. I know with shipping it starts around silver value but I'm hoping the casting design draws more for it
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/190923031986?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649


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## solar_plasma (Oct 7, 2013)

I guess you get more,if you cast some roleplayer dices, skulls or Thor's hammers in silver. But I think you are right, to make some art work from the silver will give higher bids on ebay. Somewhere I read small impurities of copper make it better to be casted.


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## Harold_V (Oct 7, 2013)

solar_plasma said:


> Somewhere I read small impurities of copper make it better to be casted.


The presence of copper limits silver's ability to absorb oxygen, but it also creates its own problems in that if the alloy is overheated, or exposed to an oxidizing flame, the copper oxidizes. That, in turn, often leads to porosity in the cast silver. Properly handled, however, yes, silver that has copper content behaves much better. 

The issue of oxygen being absorbed by molten silver can be addressed by other means, including controlled cooling. 

What on earth would prompt anyone to melt in a mold, in particular a graphite mold? It's one of the poorest displays of melting I can imagine. There are several reasons why it's not a good idea, not the least of which would be the fact that the mold is degraded by the process, and a huge amount of heat is required to achieve melting temperature due to the conductivity of graphite. Crucibles or melting dishes are used to melt. Molds have the intended purpose of receiving the molten metal. 

Harold


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## solar_plasma (Oct 7, 2013)

Wow, sometimes, just when I thought, I knew already a lot, I get overwhelmed by the multitude of knowledge and skills I am still missing...in my case pyrometallurgy and pgms, not to think of ores, three fields as wide as hydrometallurgy on silver and gold alone.


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## joem (Oct 7, 2013)

It's the only thing I had available. My melting dish is used for gold and I did not want to mix metals. Anyway, Why would anyone melt in a mold? For fun of course.
It's fun to melt ( especially with my new mapp torch), fun to recover gold foils, fun to design, fun to sell anything, fun to make money, Fun to read here. When I am having fun and not killing myself that keeps me happy.


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## glorycloud (Oct 7, 2013)

The fun for me was recognizing the shape of the stamp on your silver blob
and yet not being able to define what it reminded of! That bugged me for
a day until someone said it was Wilson. LOL!!

I am glad that you are creative. 8)


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## Geo (Oct 7, 2013)

i thought it was a bear paw.

i just looked at the Ebay listing. it is a bear paw. :lol:


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## Harold_V (Oct 7, 2013)

joem said:


> It's the only thing I had available. My melting dish is used for gold and I did not want to mix metals. Anyway, Why would anyone melt in a mold? For fun of course.
> It's fun to melt ( especially with my new mapp torch), fun to recover gold foils, fun to design, fun to sell anything, fun to make money, Fun to read here. When I am having fun and not killing myself that keeps me happy.


Do understand there is method in my madness. New readers who may not have a firm understanding of the melting process can easily make the decision that molds are for melting. That, of course, is not true, in spite of the fact that you chose to use one accordingly. 

Our mission, here, is to prevent the spread of misinformation. When you post a process that is not acceptable, you should expect to hear from someone unless you make mention that what you're doing is not considered acceptable practice. None of us want to spend endless time trying to make the new guy understand that just because he read it doesn't mean it's a good idea. And it isn't, your happiness, or not. 

Harold


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## joem (Oct 8, 2013)

Harold_V said:


> joem said:
> 
> 
> > It's the only thing I had available. My melting dish is used for gold and I did not want to mix metals. Anyway, Why would anyone melt in a mold? For fun of course.
> ...


Understood. Fair enough. To all inexperienced readers - some things anyone does (including myself at times) while recovering precious metals may not always the correct way of doing things no matter how fun it may seem at the time. Always seek out very seasoned and experienced advice before trying anything I or anyone else posts online. As with any activity - follow any safety protocols and perform all activities with caution and at your own risk.


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