Howdy

[Kaydreein]

I decided to add this 'disclaimer' after reading my post. I just had a root canal done today and I'm feeling all fancy and medicated; please excuse some of my more pretentious notes.

So I've got this gold scrapping fever and I'm pretty sure that one of the forum members here is to blame. Perhaps it was a youtube video or some random article I came across, but I'm not too keen on how it started. I've accumulated a meager collection of e-scrap over the years of buying, building, and upgrading the family computers. So out of the closets and basement it all came for me to start stripping. I gotta say the whole process has some twisted appeal to my obsessive compulsive side. First interesting discovery of mine... pins are magnetic!

Now I've got pill bottles full of assorted gold plated goodies. Cpus, ram chips, slotted connectors (fingers?), plated pins, north/south bridge - a couple kg worth of stuff. I even saved as many monolithic capacitors as I could. But all of that is the easy part, right? Now I need to decide on the best method to retrieve the gold and turn it into something that someone else would want to pay money for.

My name is Eric, I hail from South Carolina and I'm here to learn. I am familiar with chemistry from a pyrotechnic perspective in my younger and more devilish days, knowledge which I can hopefully parlay into this new interest of mine. I tend to be meticulous and methodical in any new endeavor I undertake, so much that sometimes I spend all my time planning and none of it doing. I've been reading a lot of various things from a lot of different sources, and this place seemed to be the most comprehensive and professional. So I decided to sign up after finding myself here at the end of many Google searches. I may end up lurking because pretty much every question I've had is answered here on these forums.

I love science, and MacGyver was my hero as a kid.

 

[Geo]

welcome Kaydreein,

you have certainly found the right place to learn refining precious metals.

start with this free download. its the bible of the forum and even though it was written before modern electronics were made the processes are all valid and essential http://tinyurl.com/mfnyhs

all the processes we do creates some nasty and hazardous fumes and compounds so safety is key. always use the appropriate safety gear and never work with chemicals in your living space, this includes the basement or attached garage. never work with chemicals in an indoor setting without a fume hood or other means of removing harmful fumes or vapors.

be safe and happy refining.

 

[jack_burton]

Welcome Eric!

 

[Kaydreein]

I think I have that ebook mixed in somewhere with the rest of my assorted reading materials. I'll give it a gander.

My chemical mixing always happened outside, mainly because the intended result of what I was mixing was something combustible. Never stored any mixed compounds, and always used what I mixed... or disposed of it (usually by ignition). Fumes aren't something I often had to worry about, so i'm sure that will be a learning experience. Seems like a whole new set of dangers from what I'm accustomed to. That means.. baby steps. I'm a very hands on, do-it-yourself type person, but I also enjoy my eyesight, hearing, fingers, and hands... lungs too.

Thanks for the welcomes!