# For all those getting started



## Rogerwirecable (Jun 11, 2012)

I'm a newbe and I just wanted to post some of my mistakes for those who have not got to the point of processing silver
My 1st mistake was excess Nitric acid when dissolving the scrap silver I was using a 60% acid to 40% distilled water with 61% acid base. I was not letting the reaction slow down before adding more so I over did it. 
2nd Item I was cementing with a copper bus bar (make sure there is no residue on it). I was so excited I didn’t give my solution enough time to fully cement. I realized this after filtering the cemented material and dumping the solution into a stock pot. I placed a bus bar inside the stock pot and let it sit for a couple days. I had really missed a lot of values.
3rd Really give your cement a thorough washing and completely dry when making you anodes
4th Make sure your gloves are rated to work with acids I got lucky and only ended up with a slightly discolored index finger

My Biggest mistake was being in a rush & not letting reactions fully complete. Be safe


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## Harold_V (Jun 11, 2012)

Rogerwirecable said:


> My Biggest mistake was being in a rush & not letting reactions fully complete.


Hoke makes mention of that in her book, that those who are not familiar with the use of acids tend to not permit them the time required to do their work, choosing, instead, to use more acid. It is for that reason I have always promoted the use of added heat, which drastically cuts reaction times, and can serve as an indicator of the total consumption of nitric. 

Harold


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## Rogerwirecable (Jun 11, 2012)

Thank you, I've read it many times on the forum & yet I still jumped the gun. I was like a kid at Christmas time. I couldnt wait to open the next package. Next time I will let things take its course


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## B1G JV (Jul 10, 2012)

Roger, 

Thanks for that, I must admit I also made every mistake you list! And although I have the rated gloves I still managed to get black spots on my hands from going in for a cheeky stir without putting on gloves. No big and not clever I admit. 

JV


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## MysticColby (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm a sucker for the the rushing part  But the more often you make a mistake, the quicker you learn from it, right? By now, I just leave it an extra day or so to be sure. I also go by the philosophy of: "If something is going wrong, don't try to make it better - there's always tomorrow. Clean it up so it doesn't get worse"

I always use gloves, but accidents still sometimes happen. One morning, I woke up with a small, raised, irregularly shaped, itching, dark spot on my arm. Looked something like this:


I didn't think much of it, maybe bug bite. My aunt (who works as a doctor's assistant) saw it and said it looks exactly like the Melanoma she sees frequently at work and to see a doctor. She was really worried about me. It flaked off over the next 4 days and is gone now. During that time, I reasoned that some silver nitrate possibly splashed when pouring and a drop landed unnoticed on my arm. Now I always pour via glass rod as shown here:


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