My first post...hello

[eldorado]

I just wanted to make my first post here and introduce myself. I am totally new to the world of precious metal refining and thus my internet searches have brought me here. I'm not here to ask the typical "newbie" questions as I have no problem doing my own research then coming here with questions. Typically I'm somewhat of a lurker on most internet forums but I hope to break out of my shell a little bit here as I find this industry very interesting!

I just printed off Hoke's book today and since it's very long I'm sure I won't be posting too often for awhile as I'm learning lol. I just want to make sure the community know's I'm not here to try and get "easy" answers from people who have done all the research only to have a newb try to get them to divuldge all their hard earned knowledge. I'm not even sure which process I want to use to refine any of my metals yet so I can't even begin to ask questions haha. The chemical process is what initially interested me though so thats where I plan to start. I am however very interested in gold, silver and platinum obviously so I think while I'm learning I will do my best to gather as much of these metals as I can so when it does come time to do refining I'll have material to start with. Anyways just wanted to say hello and I look forward to learning on this site.

 

[butcher]

eldorado,
Hello sounds like you’re of to a great adventure, I suggest starting with Hokes experiments, and they will get you acquainted. With how the metals react, this is extremely helpful for understanding the things you will do later, It is great to be collecting material and saving it up for when you are ready, as it is so easy to lose values jumping in before you gain an understanding, it is also easy to lose a little and there when working the very small lots, especially if you are trying to recover values from a material like electronic scrap with all of its troublesome metals. if you like to learn a fascinating subject with a great group of people, you found the right place, welcome to the best place in the world to learn and share information concerning recovery and refining precious metals. Look forward to seeing you out of your shell.

 

[eldorado]

Thanks for the warm welcome Butcher! I know very little about refining and even less about what can be scraped, obviously I know can name a few though. I do have a wife that loves to go to garage sales and always brings back jewelry she never wears haha. She has recently given me permission to begin refining it so long as i know what I'm doing lol. She actuall has quite a few pieces of 14k gold rings and such that could problably fuel my new interest for awhile. I just need to learn more about whats all involved in the process before i just jump right into it, as I know some of theses methods can be quite dangerous if you don't know what your doing. I suppose I could just take them to the local jewelry shop that would pay me for my gold but that doesn't sound like much fun to me. I'd rather learn to refine it myself then decide what I want to do with it. Anyways thanks again for the welcome and I really look forward to being a part of this site!

 

[jmdlcar]

When you printed the C. M. Hoke book did it print nice on 8.5" x 11" paper. I want to print it but 369 pages is a lot paper with small print.

Jack

 

[butcher]

jack,
6o dollars is a lot of money, but for the small book I have of Hokes it is very much worth every penny to me, it is easier to read, takes up less space than a big folder of printed pages. Some tools are better to buy than to try and make, and Hokes book is on of the better tools to have in your tool box for this job here, I think if you just bite the bullet ad buy one you will be pleased you did, my Hokes little book $60.00 / 362 pages = 0.16 cents per page, and every page has been worth more than that to me.

eldorado,
Here is where, studying the forum and reading Hokes will shine, you will learn where to find scrap precious metals in items all around you, your wife can learn what to look for at the garages sales and she can even learn to test for gold in what she buys, or how to spot sterling silver or plated items at the second hand store, you can learn to recover and refine all types of scrap and precious metals, dig into the forum, you will find it a gold mine of valuable information, even if you decide not to use chemicals the forum can educate you how to get money from all kinds of scrap, or how to get the most from valuable scrap like karat gold, you could learn how to test buy and sell...

 

[jmdlcar]

How many of those books do you have? If I get bonus check from work I'll try and get it.

Jack

 

[butcher]

Jack.
I only have one Hokes book.
Besides the copies I printed out of the download from the forum, that by the way probably cost me more in ink and paper than the book cost, the printed copy which was too cumbersome to read (probably more than 724 pages), and some of those pages did not print well as I would run out of that expensive ink.

My Hokes book has notes written on almost every page, I can pick it up and easily read a few pages when I sit and relax, Jack you have invested a lot of time in this hobby which is important to you, save up and invest a little bit of your hard earned money to buy the book, I believe this is one tool that you will get your money back on, even if you did not (which I do not see how you would not), I feel you will be like me and think owning the book was a wise investment, I would not sell my little Hokes book for a hundred dollars.

But I would buy Harold's Hoke's book for a hundred especially if he had notes in his. :lol:

But I know someone else here on the forum with more money than me would out bid me on that one.

 

[jeneje]

I would not sell my little Hokes book for a hundred dollars.

But I would buy Harold's Hoke's book for a hundred especially if he had notes in his. :lol:

But I know someone else here on the forum with more money than me would out bid me on that one.

Yeah, me! :mrgreen: i will start the bidding :lol: just kidding Harold.
Ken

 

[FrugalRefiner]

When you printed the C. M. Hoke book did it print nice on 8.5" x 11" paper. I want to print it but 369 pages is a lot paper with small print.

Jack

One of the projects I'm working on is reformatting Hoke's book to print in landscape mode with 2 pages of her book on each side of an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. It will be set up to print on both sides of the sheet of paper, so you'll actually have 4 pages of her book per sheet of paper. Each sheet can then be cut in half, and can be bound any way you'd like, e.g., a small 3 ring binder. So the whole book will take a little less than 100 sheets of paper, printed both sides. The type will be a bit larger than on the current ebook.

I'm also trying to correct a lot of the little errors that the original OCR software created. My biggest problem will be the drawings and photos. None of our local library systems in southwest Ohio have a copy of her book. My wife is trying to get a copy through an inter-library loan, but I don't know if she'll be successful.

If anyone who has a hard copy would be willing to loan their copy for this effort, I would greatly appreciate it. I will be willing to pay shipping both ways. I would need it for long enough to scan the pages with images and proof read the others against my version. I will then return the original copy to its owner and post the reformatted version on the forum.

Dave

 

[gold4mike]

Dave,

That's quite an undertaking!

Thank you for your very generous contribution to the forum.

I regret that I don't have a hard copy of the book to loan you.

Mike

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Thanks Mike. Actually, the hardest part was already done by the original cat that scanned the book and ran it through the OCR software. I'm able to copy the text and paste it into the new layout. From there I can tweak the font size, formatting, etc. Still a big project, but I could not have possibly tried it if I hadn't been able to copy and paste the text.

Dave

 

[eldorado]

JMD, I printed it off and its at least 3-4 inches thick!! I wish it was formatted better because it does waste alot of paper. Does Hokes book teach how to separate the different metals from scrap jewelry? I have'nt made it very far on his book yet and I suspect it will take me a little while to get through it. Just curious if thats in there.

 

[bswartzwelder]

eldorado

Welcome to the forum. You have started off right by reading Hokes book. By the way, Hoke was a lady, not a guy. She teaches just about anything you need to know in her book, although some of the stuff is a bit old and outdated. She advocated throwing gasoline on a fire at one place, and the escrap which many people are interested in just simply isn't covered at all since escrap hadn't been invented when she was alive. Overall, the principles are still the same.

 

[eldorado]

Good to know bswartz, thanks for the info.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

I mentioned above that I was working on a printer friendly copy of Hoke's book. You can find it here: Printer Friendly Copy of Hoke's Book.

Dave

 

[solar_plasma]

Harold, since you are a living legend, I wonder, if you have thought of writing a biography. I believe, there would be many people, who would read this with glowing eyes.

@eldorado
You have given a very sympathic introduction. I wish you all luck with your attempts.