Blissman,
Welcome to the forum. The best thing I can say about youtube videos is that some of them will lead you here. While there are a few good ones (usually created by members of this forum), most are incomplete if not downright dangerous.
Hoke's book, on the other hand, provides a solid foundation for any beginning refiner. Since it was written in 1940, it does not deal with recovering precious metals from ewaste. It was also written in a time when acids, especially nitric acid, were much less expensive and much more accessible. You'll find plenty of information on ewaste here, as well as workaround methods that do not require you to purchase nitric acid.
Here are some links I think may be of help as you begin this journey.
The first rule is to be safe in everything you do. Before you jump into any of the processes you see discussed here, be sure you understand the potential hazards and do everything you can to minimize the risks. Read EVERYTHING in the
Safety section of the forum, especially the Dealing with Waste topic. No amount of precious metal is worth jeopardizing your health or the health of those around you.
I strongly encourage all new members to follow the
Guided Tour created by LazerSteve. It will provide an introduction to the forum and numerous valuable links including the General Reactions List. Be sure to follow the link to his web site as he has many outstanding videos, a collection of great reference documents, and he sells a lot of the supplies needed to get started including detailed instructional DVDs. Samuel-a also has a lot of videos, guides and tutorials at his web site
Gold-N-Scrap.
You'll also find a tremendous amount of information in the two Forum Handbooks compiled by aflacglobal,
Forum Handbook Vol 1 and
Forum Handbook Vol 2.
Once you understand the basics you can start to try some small scale experiments. If there's something you don't understand or you get stuck, there will be someone here to help you.
Best of luck,
Dave
