Melting Jewelry into a 1kg Silver Bar

[@CheggDeo]

More smelting videos please! Watching this process is really awesome and your commentary is both funny and insightful. I've learned a lot through this channel. Cheers.

[@eyeslo4206]

You want to pour into a very hot mold. Make a stand that props up a couple of MAP fuel tanks so they continuously heat the mold while your pouring. This will give you the solid bars with no layers. Also, don't take too long to make the pour. The molten alloy cools fast as it is in a thin stream.

[@T0R4HB0y]

The layering comes from the silver cooling as you pour it into the cold mold. If you heat your mold up before you pour it that will help a ton. Love the videos!

[@michaelreader4349]

Hi Ben hope you don't mind me saying but most people let the metal melt before adding the borax then it is stirred in to bring the dross to the top which is then spooned off, also you can then add some washing soda to act as a degasser.

[@timcarty9683]

heat your mold up alot higher than you did in the video. just about pink. thats why you have the layering and the pits on the bottom. believe it or not, its moisture that is trapped in the mold. and pour slower and smoothly

[@anthonypoole6901]

Run a torch over your mold and leave it running while you pour thats why the layering is happening the mold isnt hot enough

[@jakejenning6571]

tips 1 add two table spoons of borax at the beginning of the melt and 1 at the end while it's still in the furnace then use a graphite rod or to stir the liquid metal most of the stuff you don't want will stick to the rod and can be pulled out. 2 before you pour make sure your mold is hot as fuck a shit kitchen element or even toaster over does a good job to keep the bottom hot and reduce pitting on the bottom of the bar another thing to help with that is use your torch and cook the inside of the mold good and brush on a quick coat of vegetable oil this will flame up stoping alot of the oxidation on the surface of the bar when you pour it and for the ripples in the side it's a big bar what happens is the bottom and the sides cool faster then the center try to reduced that with your mold being as hot as you can get it and don't let it sit in the air graphite cools fast. during the pour pour quickly and steady don't worry about the impurities the borax with always come to the surface of the metal when it's liquid I hope this helps

[@wonghiulan2961]

Wouldn't the vegetable oil splash all over when you pour?

[@brianjudson2370]

@@wonghiulan2961 use a spray bottle.

[@roywhipple7340]

If you don't want the folding of the metal you have to heat the kiln for jus below the gold melt heat so the silver stay liquid longer at a higher temperature so you have to heat the kiln for the normal silver melt temp, then just before bringing it out to pour you raise the temp of the kiln 50 to 100 degrees then you need the mold to be almost red hot before piuring, and you'll have a nice smooth ingot

[@MrAllan9]

The layering, and the pitted bottom could be due to a rapid cooling caused by the mold not being hot enough. Any moisture in the mold will come running out when the molten silver is poured in and can even explode, I've seen it happen. Heat them to the highest possible and get a mint finish. Peace.

[@philN1949]

1:00 Hi Ben. 'German silver' is actually an alloy containing like 47-64 % copper, 10-25 % nickel, and 15-42 % zinc. In the 1820s it was invented to be able to produce a 'mass-market silverware' that just looks like silver and didn't contain arsenic like the first copy in Germany of the original Chinese packfong.

[@mikemaxwell6309]

Did he really just melt a certified .9999 coin into scrap silver?

[@FamAccNr1]

the layering happens because the mold is colder than the molten metal. of course you can only preheat it with the torch. Best would be if its temperature is as close as the metals

[@recyclespecialist4890]

Ask BigstacksD about the layering, he seems to have that problem worked out.

[@historyhunter5215]

One thing between this guy,bigstacks,and especially Sreetips I've learned to just laugh when I walk by jewelry. I seen a ring today at a pawn shop,1700.00.... For a plated circle of metal?!?! 🤣😂🤣 Fools gold!!! I know how I will spend my retirement days getting my retirement!

[@jefflwadfordjr.1128]

BIGSTACKSD is the man

[@mattdalby1210]

Great tutorial, for a perfect bar the mould must be the same temperature as what is poured as the silver cools on impact.

[@pedz07]

if you keep the mold under the heat and pour faster you will get a better bar

[@Silvertoburn]

You need to refine it more than once to get rid of the crap on top! The layering is because the mold is not hot enough! Still very nice!

[@rennyzero420]

I believe the borax needs to be mixed and melted with a torch to get an impurity extraction however I am a beginner so I cannot say for certain. Looks Good 👍

[@lucasalshouse7023]

It's layering because you did not pre heat the mold.

[@buggsy5]

He preheated the mold, just not hot enough. On the other hand, I have found that silver tends to layer more than gold does, for some reason.

[@caligreen4208]

I like how you showed us end product at start, I hate waiting for end product in videos, just wanna see that bar 😎👌👍😆, anyways , great video !

[@haleiwahi27]

It would be nice to see the purity measured from a Sigma Metalytics Verifier. I'm also wondering why you would want silver in that large of a bar. Usually, (or at least in my experience) anything larger than a 10oz bar sells or values for less.

[@jenredhawk8579]

the layering can be because the mould isn't heated enough or the metal isn't at a good heat to pour yet

[@CheshiredGrin]

Heat up ingot mold, it will make a nicer bar.

[@joshuaerbe289]

Cheshired Grin. Why will it be nicer when you heat it up?

[@midwest_trucker8638]

@@joshuaerbe289 it keeps the silver hot longer and gives mor time to settle

[@benny5190]

hey ben happy new year did you get this bar assayed after the pour ?

[@ernestpetzrick7741]

You're having way too much fun. Enjoy

[@BrasspineappleProductions]

I think the layering is due to a faster rate of cooling due to heat loss from crucible to iron cast pouring. Maybe if you heated up that casting block prior to pouring, it may yield a cleaner bar with a more consistent full bar without problems.

[@brianhbinesh]

my OCD wouldn't let me keep that bar they way it looks. I would have re melted it as soon as came out of the ingot mold

[@tom-we5vr]

Jeez I'm your 10000th subscriber!!! 😁😁😁😁😁👏🏻👏🏻

[@eWasteBen]

Thanks for joining in, am doing a little comp' for the 10k sub milestone and have the moment it hit 10k recorded

[@quagmier3]

Hi Ben. That bar is very nice. I could be wrong but that tannish color that formed after the bar cooled down looked like a thin layer of oxidized zinc or copper. Both metals tend to discolor badly when cooled down in the presence of air. I think that the presence of those metals are making the bars cool down with that rippling effect. I don't think it would happen as bad with pure silver. Also the bars might come out a bit smoother if the mold is heated up to as close to the metal temperature as possible. I still love your bar more that the bars you normally see. It has character. Have a great day.

[@danvandertorre9280]

the learing is form low heat on the mold you can get pure silver with using nitric acid

[@ccsportsdad]

That was pretty cool Ben, congrats on the Silver bar, it looks pretty good Take care Ben, chris

[@amazingmurfinator6338]

That's cool. Congrats on your first pour

[@johnnyboyooo]

I made jewelry for 8+ years starting at high school and ended in collage, indeed blank silver is relatively cheep to get ahold of, however making jewelry does indeed take some time and skill and experience. Not to mention it takes some time to sell your pieces when you are finished with them. I believe some companies buy silver back however, i think they want you to Smelt down scrap silver into bars preferably; easier to deal with a large bar than it is with a bucket of scrap testing each individual piece to determine its purity; and determining whether its legit silver or silver plated. The process is quite logical if you ask me. there are a lot of variable to consider before considering that you want to smelt down scrap silver, I've known a couple of people that went into the negative because they didn't know what they were doing and ended up with a big mess or worse injury

[@mosubscribers1281]

that shined up really good

[@carrots9159]

Could your furnace melt aluminium and if it can you should make ingot out of the wires you get

[@MichaelBerthelsen]

The layering is because the mould isn't nearly hot enough, and the pour is too slow. If you look back, you can actually see a layer set while you're pouring (you slow down at some point). Have you thought about placing the mould face down on top of the furnace for a short time to let it heat up? Although I'm not sure it's broad enough, since your mould is much wider than the opening of your furnace.

[@eWasteBen]

heated it up with a torch but obviously not enough

[@wulfarrow2849]

awesome dude, I love rough ingots I feel that they look better

[@mrobertson188]

If you want to get really rugged, hammer the imperfections smooth with anvil and flat hammer

[@Solafox]

I want to see those signage TVs disassembled

[@benny5190]

iv been looking to invest in silver for last few weeks but had no luck in finding any at a good price Iv advertised online but turned down some 925 silver I wanted it pure as possible loving you videos and passion I remember watching one of your videos for the first time then picking up 3 free crt tvs the next day been hooked since now I have a wheelie bin full of cables and and tubs of ics, tant, cpu's, mlcc's, gold pins, ect next project is a workshop extension and more bins

[@arridexerandco]

Ben Houghton How much space does it take up? I really want to get into it, but, as i am still in high school, my mum will only let me do this stuff in our garage, which is half filled by a boat, and a workbench covered in crap ( 10m^2 floor space)

[@benny5190]

arridexerandco depends on what scale you want to scrap my wife let my have a corner in the garden so i built a workshop and fenced it off to keep my kids out i kinda hoard it so its more economical when i take big loads to my local scrap yard but you could start with small tubs and cash it in regularly so you're not taking up to much space i take anything though i advertise for e waste but people usally add cookers ect so i take them as i have space and my scrap yard is only a 1 minute drive which is handy

[@benny5190]

shame i cant post pics i picked up a industrial circuit breaker panel thing this morning the steel case weighs 75kg the cable is 20kg and its full of circuit breakers which has loads of brass and copper earthing rods

[@eWasteBen]

check for silver contacts

[@benny5190]

eWaste Ben i have a tub full of tactile switches but the contacts are tiny iv seen a few youtube videos where to find them maybe thats a future video for yourself where to find them and how to actually get them out

[@liam6345]

If you can make yourself a decent furnace, the one you have is decent... don't get me wrong; however, making your own allows you to use a wider crucible - thus - it allows you to skim your product. Skimming your product allows for a purer finish and less polishing.

[@ITSTIMETOSTOP]

"some copper and shit" 10/10

[@huntingtreasure8855]

layering is cooling to quick use a blow torch on the poor to keep it hot

[@deborahhardeman8802]

How much bored should you add? And what does the temp be on furnace, ? The top # Say PV and bottom number be set at? I am new to doing this

[@kadenkilker6201]

Don’t ask me, I got no idea.

[@robertlakay88]

Jewellery has a high premium due to the hours of workmanship that has gone into it. Why not restore the jewellery and sell it to gain that premium?

[@anthonyman8008]

Robert Lakay right! I went to buy silver to make cups and silverware!

[@neinmehr1601]

@@anthonyman8008 Silver is an anti bacterial and germicidal metal, the same with copper. It would be a good idea to have actual silverware and copperware for those anti bacterial effects.

[@teejones7544]

Sweet bro... Get your mold hotter. No side lines...it's like pouring pourage..compared to 999...cheers mate.. Keep stacking... Mothers rim polish Will make her shine or flitz polish

[@maidenlord6663]

You need to likely oil the mold to get no pitting and let it go just a bit longer when melting and I promise you it will look a whole lot better

[@miltyway]

Can you tell me where we should put the borax to remove impurities from jewellery ? Do we sprinkle it on the areas that held the stone / glue ect... love your videos !

[@eWasteBen]

at the end of the melt

[@dialdowninternet8987]

@@AverageDoggo Ye

[@Bradjgonnuscio]

Again an other great video. thank you. look forward too the next one..... keep up the great work.

[@shaneyork300]

I think you did a GREAT job! If it looked perfect it wouldn't look as good!!!

[@edgarmilson8686]

I see a ring with a stone still on it. Are you going to remove the stone before melting the ring? All the best, Edgar

[@diamonevideos9318]

what is the use of melting beautiful jewelry into a bar?.....

[@eWasteBen]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

[@diamonevideos9318]

:))))

[@damok9999]

most bracelets and generic chains are mass produced (mostly what i see in the pile there) which is common, has low artistic value, and 90% of buyers want NEW bracelets and chains. If it was semi precious stones in rings sure there is probably some $2-4 / gram sterling there. The rest would be tumbling and polishing just to sell for less than $2 / gram (in most cases)

[@lordstrike45]

What's the use of putting on jewelry ? What's the use of anything for that matter

[@alan30189]

Why would you melt a .999 sliver coin into a .925 mix? Sell the .999 silver coin for full spot. You just lost some money there.

[@kennethwoolard5910]

It insures the assay of the bar. No money is lost!

[@Grizz317]

Some money is lost. Most buyers don’t like buying hand-poured and also don’t like buying 925. So they typically pay a bit less.

[@laurenpierce835]

I feel like his final product had less value than each individual item's value to begin with.

[@BrasspineappleProductions]

You could the row the bar back into the melt and remelt it possibly.

[@sr633]

You made one continuous pour, so maybe the mold was not hot enough. Making 405 grain lead bullets will layer if the the bullet mold has cooled a bit before the pour.

[@huntingtreasure8855]

the wire brush you are using will contaminant the bar carbon or stainless carbon will make it rust

[@Kaaskop84]

It is beautiful 😍 what was the purity?

[@keiji1531]

should be better if you have polishing compound and make it little bit smooth and polish like how smooth and polish silver bar

[@jesteronetime]

would a 2nd melt make it even better

[@SomervilleBob]

Add a bit of flux, heat your mold and pour FAST to get a good looking ingot.

[@bantalee2002]

When it comes to using borax more is better that separates the impurities.

[@wadeking]

Amigo please tell me where to find that exact blue furnace that you use....???? I have followed all of your equipment links and they continue to take me to a different furnace, not like yours.....i like yours a lot!!, thank you very much!!::))

[@parfecthelp7964]

expert24ctgoldandsilver.blogspot.com/?m=1 For more information, click on the link given above, you will get the answer of all your questions. Thank you

[@TwoGuy]

You have to pour fast so you don't get layering

[@you_sir]

What is that machine？

[@Torpengpogi]

when you melt those sterling silver or alloyed silver metals/jewellry, where does the impurities or non-silver metallic components goes? does it disentegrates during high heat smelting? or there's a process for it to remove non-silver metals during smelting?

[@scouttrooper3450]

I would also like to know that. I think of it like this. Just because there is more silver than anything else, doesn't mean it will disintegrate or evaporate. If you melted one copper tube and one silver tube slightly smaller, that doesn't mean just because there is 5% more copper that all the silver evaporates, rather they get alloyed together.

[@SILVERBROTHER72]

What Was The Final Purity?

[@chazzmccloud36]

There are videos on extracting copper from silver, it won't just melt out..

[@richardbrooks6092]

How much Borax per 1kg of scrap 925 sterling??

[@c17360]

What great fun! Nice job Ben.

[@johnnyjones8524]

hey ben question for u do u melt ic chips in the furnace

[@eWasteBen]

not better of incinerating ic chips like on a cookie sheet, the crucible is too small for that job

[@johnnyjones8524]

eWaste Ben thank u ur very helpful another question how do you process mlccs or tantalum capacitors

[@7teddy169]

Hey do you have to use borex or is it optional

[@eWasteBen]

in silver, only when it's not 999 but borax help with heat too, copper yes you want borax, gold usually yes.

[@davidbosilj]

If you were to sell it right now, how much would you get for it?

[@eWasteBen]

right now spot value is US$535 but being a one of a kind bar, i'd want couple pizza's on top

[@TnT_F0X]

How much did your kiln cost? I've been able to melt silver with my steel trash can crucible but its a lot more work then plugging something in lol

[@eWasteBen]

about US$450

[@TnT_F0X]

hmmm I'll stick with my 40 dollar trash can and charcoal lighter x3

[@yeshuamedrano815]

That small difference is not so small my friend. great vid

[@timoshiishimaki75]

why not just use electrolysis to purify it and have .999 silver?

[@glennTR]

What type of foundry do you use for melting

[@kidrottenscat]

did it take all your scrap or did you have some leftover?

[@browncheese5658]

layering might be caused by it not being hot enough when pored

[@eatiegourmet1015]

Oh, the melt was hot enough! I susoect the mold wasn't hot enough, and the silver cooled too quickly as it poured.

[@zachamy4444]

well done just finished processing the sim cards that I won the other month . had great fun working out how to do it . ended up with .8 of a gram for my first attempt at gold recovery. I think im hooked .

[@hayevanleeuwen6018]

How did you process those sim cards exactly? Second question, did you win the 1000 sim card bag?

[@damok9999]

nice almost a gram! just from sim cards too, i only got .9 from over 150 RAM lol

[@JuliusBalboa500]

looks good keep making these bars.

[@johnsmith-yj2cn]

that around 472.26 usd

[@grossleg123]

You will def have to put that 999 coin in as the solder in all this scrap will take the silver below .925

[@williamsmith455]

Ben, your Aotearoa coin was probably worth a bit more than just the silver value.

[@slicksilver9441]

William Smith I agree, those things fetch a damn good price elsewhere

[@gaugedsilver615]

there is a whole community of silver stacking and silver pouring.

[@smarky4461]

Gauged Silver yep. I'm a part of it XD

[@jacobllent]

I'm new to allthis why add borax?

[@eWasteBen]

removes impurities, dirt and stuff

[@erichansen2418]

The borax is used as a flux to lower the melting points of the various metals and alloys that are being cast into the mold. :-)

[@diegofabela1213]

How many bars have you made?

[@patrickjobling8676]

Preheat ya mold ..😁

[@huntingtreasure8855]

if you have a bar that is 1000g at 925 no body will give what the market value is never, let say it is 500 dollars they will give you 300 to 400 at best so i would sell the chains as is and you will get more then scrap market value always melting it down is a bad move unless you dont care plus its harder to sell that way very hard

[@steven2212]

Layering=cold mold

[@paulgains4516]

Speed up the your pour, and don't hesitate, that will stop the layering.

[@ut000bs]

Also those molds should be pretty much glowing red.

[@GF_Burke]

Nice man. Yes, keep a torch on the mold. More borax (can never be "too much"). I do also enjoy the crying in the comments lols. Keep doing it bro.

[@matrixcmitech]

I upvoted this because I learned a lot. Cheers!

[@andrewvida3829]

Holy crap.... you put that fine silver coin in? That was an error. When melting scrap, you should segregate by grade. diluting fine silver to a lower quality makes no sense. The bar came out ugly because you didn't heat the mold. Pouring the molten silver into a cold mold causes premature chilling. I would bring the mold up to 500 - 600*F. As for dross, what you need is a quartz rod which you use to take up the dross while metal is still in the crucible. The dross will stick to the quartz, yet wipe off easily. You should be able to get them at a jeweler's supply. As for the borax, you quench the ingot in a pot of hot #2 Sparex, which is sodium bisulphate, or some such. That will dissolve the borax. Heat the mold and you will get a much prettier result.

[@andrewvida3829]

Not that much work.

[@briceviolette8415]

what is the name of your furnace

[@eWasteBen]

link for furnace specs is at the bottom of the description

[@briceviolette8415]

thanks :D

[@res1492]

its amazing how these type of video make everyone a Metallurgist 6:00 unless they are diamonds

[@FamAccNr1]

res1492 its amazing how these type of video make everyone a geologist

[@res1492]

lol, you got me bro!! Although in my defence i wasn't saying i know anything about diamonds, just don't throw them away.

[@patrickwynkoop2218]

Awesome I scap all my relays switch's so when i get my smelter I'll know now

[@67Lucky67]

How do you get the silver off the non silver part of the switch?

[@patrickwynkoop2218]

I don't know how yet

[@67Lucky67]

@@patrickwynkoop2218 Melt them off one at a time is all I can figure.

[@silverchenderson2228]

When you use borax with Sterling Silver in a Graphite Crucible and a Electric Kiln,you Have to BE Sure THAT THE CRUCIBLE IS AT Least AS HOT AS 500c. If you use less heat on a graphite crucible it turns into a bad pour. That piece of brown is the burning up of impurities. If he reported it with a hot mold, he wouldn't have to clean it at all. It would be .999.

[@vipervidsgamingplus5723]

Cheri Henderson maybe his furnace can't run that hot for long

[@highly_developed_bs_detect230]

do talk so daft its still 925 pudding!!!

[@jamieparker4010]

no, you'd have to refine it first to get .999 silver I've done it before and can understand why it was skipped first it needs nitric acid which you need a licence for unless you buy low grade and boil it (which I did) then you need a ventilated area and a gallon container to hold the bubbling, NO2 spewing solution that is exothermic so will need to be quite tough glass to work that volume and handle the heat then you have the cementing, filtering and drying which will take a couple of days before you can get to melting hence why my trade silver is sent off and my coins and findings are processed like this

[@edgarmilson8686]

If jewellry or tea sets or whatever are really old they might not be marked. But silver is soft and very flexible or at least I found it like that.

[@jayrock1470]

I use to bring a magnet to the thrift stores and go to the silverware boxes and put my magnet in there on top of the silver butter knives and spoons and whatever didn't stick to the magnet I bought and most of the time it was silver I paid $0.15 a piece for it and sold it for about 15 to $20 a piece

[@patrickwynkoop2218]

I thought melting it made it purer

[@jayrock1470]

@@patrickwynkoop2218 yes that's why you add your flux to it to draw all the other elements out

[@patrickwynkoop2218]

@@jayrock1470 is flux Borax?

[@jayrock1470]

@@patrickwynkoop2218 borax flux

[@rickybobby7997]

About how much borax would you add to that?

[@rickybobby7997]

good video btw...more informative than most.

[@eWasteBen]

half a teaspoon, best to add it right before you pour otherwise it wears out the crucible too quick

[@rickybobby7997]

thanks for the tip...much appreciated.

[@joesmith2505]

Actually .. The best alloyed silver that's used for jewelry is .990 . Tiffany uses it for there jewelry and a few others. Its not commonly used, but when a jeweler wants to use the best, they use .990. After .990 comes bullion .999. I have a little .990 my self. A Korean Wedding cutlery set I picked up at a thrift store for $2.00 , I'll be using that for jewelry casting only. That last .10 percent left in the silver is copper. They have to alloy it with something. If they don't, it won't keep its shape when made into jewelry, to soft. Almost all my sterling will get melted into bars. Hope this is helpful.

[@Indydrone]

Joe Smith if you're melting name brand silver you're losing money

[@joesmith2505]

I'll only melt junk. Not my first rodeo.

[@Level84]

Why melt sterling into bars? I never understood that. Also many bars come in .999+ or .9999 so .999 buillion is not the highest purity, even though the difference that last .0009 makes is questionable.

[@kammysnyder6852]

What is German silver

[@PhoenixrisingfitnessUSA]

German silver has no silver in it

[@BusyBeeCompany]

This is why when i buy silver and gold i only buy wearables...i pay spot or just a touch over it but can sell at a premium away from where i purchase from....id have thought better to turn to shot then an ingot...easier to melt later buy ingots are easier to keep then a tub of jewelry.

[@MrJob91]

do you Make profit on your silver?

[@eWasteBen]

buy when low, sell when high is what it's all about, one day silver will shoot to the moon, I hope.

[@MrJob91]

I like your trading philosophy. You have a decent amount of subscribers, consider setting up a patreon account you put allot of effort into your video's and they are very popular. im just a student but im sure that some people will donate some monthly video cash

[@eWasteBen]

nah, a thumbs up and getting to talk to people who are into scrapping and stuff is payment enough.

[@garrysshelton9032]

Preheat the Mold before you pour into a cold one! Surely you have a hand-sized tank available...

[@12ff125der]

pretty sure he did.