Hello everybody,
I am considering start melting silver and refining it. I say I am considering because I am quite afraid of the dangers. Silver contacts have cadmium, then reverse electroplating releases fumes, and in the the hand I am in a place that supplies are not easy to get like borax.
My idea is to avoid any harsh chemicals and stick to the most simple and safe way to approach the refining. It is nothing but get to the hobby level and have a safe practise. For now I accomplished melting 925 silver with a butane torch. Thats it.
In my plans are recovery of plated silver and electrical contacts. My desired method so far looks like cupellation (using portland cement), but without borax or flux can I use sodium carbonate? Also for the electrical contacts is there any safe way to get rid of impurities of cadmium silver? Is there a way to do this in open air (no neighbours) and not get poisoned?
I am not planing to get into Platinum, rhodium or iridium as the melting points are quite high for my method, which is a gas torch, so I guess all those metals would be collected in the slag?
Of course these are question that I have already research a bit here and also online in general, I just want to have your opinion based on your experience on basic no no´s and if there are sources I would be happy to research them by myself if you could point that to me. I am reading through Ms Hoke´s manual, such a treat! but I would like to have access to more updated or actually more diy, non hazardous and more accessible methods than aqua regia and so on.
I am considering start melting silver and refining it. I say I am considering because I am quite afraid of the dangers. Silver contacts have cadmium, then reverse electroplating releases fumes, and in the the hand I am in a place that supplies are not easy to get like borax.
My idea is to avoid any harsh chemicals and stick to the most simple and safe way to approach the refining. It is nothing but get to the hobby level and have a safe practise. For now I accomplished melting 925 silver with a butane torch. Thats it.
In my plans are recovery of plated silver and electrical contacts. My desired method so far looks like cupellation (using portland cement), but without borax or flux can I use sodium carbonate? Also for the electrical contacts is there any safe way to get rid of impurities of cadmium silver? Is there a way to do this in open air (no neighbours) and not get poisoned?
I am not planing to get into Platinum, rhodium or iridium as the melting points are quite high for my method, which is a gas torch, so I guess all those metals would be collected in the slag?
Of course these are question that I have already research a bit here and also online in general, I just want to have your opinion based on your experience on basic no no´s and if there are sources I would be happy to research them by myself if you could point that to me. I am reading through Ms Hoke´s manual, such a treat! but I would like to have access to more updated or actually more diy, non hazardous and more accessible methods than aqua regia and so on.