# Methods to melt and mold 999 silver grain/shot



## Anonymous (Dec 7, 2008)

Hi All,

This newbie would like to start by saying Thank you all for being here, after searching the internet and reading old foundry books I found this forum. And I felt I had found the Holy Grail. 

My idea/question is what are the different options available to melt and mold 1oz silver bars from .999 grain shot from APMEX? Or from larger bars in the future. I got this idea after seeing the spot differential and then somewhere in this forum I read reference to “True Metals Group, LLC” so I thought it was worth a shot.

I currently have graphite blocks ready for forming and the equipment to do some good detail in the mold but not fine detail. I also have a hydrogen touch capable of 10,000 Degree Fahrenheit. I have read that silver loves to absorb oxygen and then give it up during the cooling process. Can this be averted by melting the silver shot in the mold? Or melting larger quantizes then pouring it in a vacuum chamber?

As for the molds can I make a 2 piece mold so I can pour into ½ then place the other half of the mold in place. That way I can reuse my mold and have text or graphic on both sides. Or should I stick the standard molds and use hand punching? Then there’s sand molding but I’m not setup at all for that.

And finally can I form a business as a mint, bullion dealer, jeweler, or coin dealer so that I can stamp the purity in the bars and also give documentation of the silvers origin? Or is a business license needed, and if it’s not what type of documentation is needed to sell bullion? Not just on EBay

Thank you in advance for any and all advice,

Ford Energy


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## Harold_V (Dec 7, 2008)

Bad idea. 

You can't pour and mark one ounce ingots fast enough to break even, let alone make a profit. It is for that reason silver in small sizes is die struck, not cast. 

I see no wisdom in buying silver grain from a refiner, where it is already priced over spot. 

One does NOT melt metals in molds. That's a sure way to get fusion (soldering) of the metal to the mold. If you choose to use a graphite mold, you'll find it has a very short life if you use it as a crucible. It burns away silently, so the cavity is constantly being enlarged, ruining the details that you might like to have engraved in the mold. The cost of the mold alone would make the idea useless, not that it matters. 

It might pay you to explore die striking ingots or bullion coins before making any decisions. It's obvious, from your questions, that you do not understand the process well at all. 

Harold


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