# My first Silver



## mjgraham (Jul 31, 2013)

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the basically free knowledge around here. This is my first sterling to cemented silver and I love the look of silver. Was a good learning experience, one thing I had to melt and pour the cemented silver in about 10 rounds just due to having a small melting dish, I started with 183g and ended up with 172g , I know I have read with a oxy/acetylene torch to reduce to oxygen as much as possible but I thought this was a lot of loss. Is it better to just go quick, this took some time to melt each batch like I did it. Working on a silver cell now, mostly just to learn about it. I did learn in pouring the cornflakes/shot, you need a quite deep water pool, I had it stirring but some were still molten after 1 foot of cold water. Again thanks for all that share information on here.
Jarrid


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## glorycloud (Jul 31, 2013)

Very pretty!!

But I am waiting for it to all come back together like on the Terminator movies. 8)


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## Gold (Jul 31, 2013)

That is some nice cemented silver! Good job!


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## MysticColby (Jul 31, 2013)

weight loss is probably from trace amounts of copper getting caught in flux and moisture in the powder.
a reducing flame is good to use, though not very important when dealing with pure or nearly pure silver. it won't oxidize the silver, only get oxygen trapped in it, which will then come out as it solidifies. especially if you're just corn flaking it, this is not an issue.
For when you do want a reducing flame, it only has to be a little reducing. you don't need to turn the oxygen down all the way, just a little. All you need is more acetylene than oxygen and it'll be reducing.
Melting quickly is advisable. less heat is lost to the surroundings, so it's more efficient. But don't have it cranked up so much that it blows your powder away.


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## Gold (Jul 31, 2013)

Now that it is in shot form you are ready for a silver cell. Here are some shots of crystals from my silver cell.


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## Gold (Jul 31, 2013)

and some more.


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## Gold (Jul 31, 2013)

and two more.


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## jmdlcar (Jul 31, 2013)

Hi,

That real nice hope I can to it some day

Jack


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## niteliteone (Aug 1, 2013)

Looks like someone has got that dreaded "Silver Finger" disorder going on.

PS. Good job


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## Geo (Aug 1, 2013)

this may be a little off topic but just for those that may not know, silver nitrate is still used today as a disinfectant. its used in medical institutions to sterilize certain surgical instruments and its used in meat processing plants. it is mixed with water and a surfactant and is sprayed at the feet when walking through doorways from one area to another. its used to stop cross contamination from one process to another. silver nitrate is still in use in the farming industry where the fear of antibiotic resistant infections could cause the loss of live stock.

i just wouldnt drink it but i have read that ingesting small quantities may have health benefits. It is used in medicine in the treatment of eye infections and gonorrhea.


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## Gold (Aug 1, 2013)

These are clips from my video series that i offer to my clients for a add on to their gold refining course. I have actually considered releasing the whole course and the kit to the general public. I don't just go from point a to point b i give visual references throughout the series as what to do and not what to do. I teach silver refining using the silver cell and i teach scientific principle as well as theory. It's not a ebay video by any stretch of the imagination. I actually perform the whole process without gloves so i can demonstrate what WILL happened if you don't follow the proper safety precaution that i have outlined in the course. Here is another clip of just one way i demonstrate how to empty the cell.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ipu5dystW8[/youtube]


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## mjgraham (Sep 2, 2013)

Thanks for all the info, been away for a while, I did make a video of a simple silver cell in action, not the most efficient setup but done this way so everyone could see what was going on. You should be able to click the photo to watch the video, it may re-direct you to the other site you if do open it in a new tab. This is ran at 3.3 V the meter is reading current and time at the top of the display, somehow there was a little lapse in time around 3.5 hrs. I think the neatest part is at the end when the surface tension erodes the silver up about the liquid level.


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## chlaurite (Sep 2, 2013)

Wow, _beautiful_ video, *mjgraham*! Perhaps not as efficient a cell as possible, but you've created a real work of art there!

I wonder - By controlling the geometry of the two terminals and the current, could you encourage specific shapes to grow, or even produce a single large crystal?

Thanks for sharing that. I didn't have much interest in silver (barely worth the cost of the chemistry), but I want my own cell now just to watch _that_ happen. :mrgreen:


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## mjgraham (Sep 2, 2013)

chlaurite said:


> Wow, _beautiful_ video, *mjgraham*! Perhaps not as efficient a cell as possible, but you've created a real work of art there!
> 
> I wonder - By controlling the geometry of the two terminals and the current, could you encourage specific shapes to grow, or even produce a single large crystal?
> 
> Thanks for sharing that. I didn't have much interest in silver (barely worth the cost of the chemistry), but I want my own cell now just to watch _that_ happen. :mrgreen:


The cathode was basically a ring of 316 stainless, the crystals are super small and kind of spongy, but super brilliant white, I would imagine if you inverted the whole setup and had a very small cathode point and low current you might be able to do that, might be worth a try. Here is actually my first attempt, small pieces of 316 MIG welding wire.


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## mjgraham (Sep 5, 2013)

Well my first bar did OK, I have attempted a couple of pours and I can never get them to fill the mold. It is a graphite mold and it heat it quite hot, orange once. Another thing I notice is some concave regions on the bottom. I still loose some silver somewhere in melting it, I have went to using propane and MAPP, I guess electric is the next option. I know some sticks to the dish but seems like I am always loosing a gram or two.


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