How and Where to Find Scrap Silver - Identification, Refining With Acid

[@flierbill]

Thank you, for stopping me from going any further down this rabbit hole!

[@haigpapelian7600]

Great video and safety information. Nowadays not many people try to let viewers know how dangerous things are. You definitely nailed it. Great job

[@choccolocco]

The very reason after decades of scrapping, I don’t do it. Money and time aside, the dangers are real, and all it takes is one mistake, I’ll continue to “pass”…

[@1986tessie]

For promoting fine silver, you earned yourself a like.

[@thubprint]

I like the stuff!

[@WhyWhatWhoWhenWhyAgain]

For being just plain smart, defining the line between money and a hobby and putting the important things on the right sides of the line just got you a follower.

[@joshhalbert2906]

Very glad this was the 1st video watched on collecting silver, saved me from another "rabbit hole to nowhere" hobby ha

[@TheogRahoomie]

The way you turned scrap steel into silver at the end was galaxy brain stuff. Love it.

[@mkbman45]

Great advice. I sell all types of computer components, such as motherboards, RAM, hard drives, gold plated pins, etc. People ask me why I don't do the gold recovery thing? You answered the question exactly the way I do!

[@thubprint]

It’s SUCH a pain hahaha! Sell it to someone who feels like doing it, then buy a little flake of gold with the money. Do you have local scrapyards that buy yours, or do you do eBay?

[@downyourtube]

I really like you. Your kindness exceeds your intellect and it shines thru your eyes, I bet you didn't know that. Thank you for taking your time to help others understand the importance of making wise decisions concerning these matters. You did a great job. Wish I had a friend just like you.

[@thubprint]

😂 thank you so much! At first it sounds like one of those backhanded compliments but I’m pretty sure you only meant nice things by it 🤣 I really appreciate that, and I’ll be smiling abt this for days to come ☺️

[@downyourtube]

@@thubprint I meant it. I think your great guy. Bless you.

[@ScoutsIX3]

Your videos keep getting better and more polished!

[@thubprint]

Thank you! I am trying to improve all the time. I’m hoping the extra effort pays off over the long term 👌

[@williammiller6043]

Thanks!

[@thubprint]

You’re a gem, thank you!

[@2evangelina]

Impressive video Thub!!! Love the blurred image then focused again sequence too! but my favorite of all is the sound of your voice, some people go to training to sound a little bit like you!!!!Good job!

[@thubprint]

Awww, haha! ☺️ thank you so much, I’ve been trying my best to get my quality up and the audio clear. Glad it’s been worth it 😉

[@Cody_Buck]

Seriously great punchline point at the end. Love it, bro.

[@michaeldesmondwoods3193]

I completely agree with you! The last method was the best and most effective way to get silver as a scrapper.

[@graemeallen3679]

Love the way you look to see the best option for silver recovery. After all the stuff you need to do to get a minuscule amount of silver using dangerous acids and then show how easy it is to buy a coin which is far more less expensive and time consuming. It certainly made me think about how I will be going about it now. Thanks heaps, learning the from a person who has a lot better understanding about the issues that other people don't tell you about.🙂

[@thubprint]

Thank you for saying! I try to keep things realistic for the typical person’s experience otherwise I don’t see what good the information is right? It’s all well and good to make a video of making a gold nugget from a mountain of computer parts, it’ll get a lot of views and those probably pay for the costs that aren’t shown. For most people though the math just doesn’t make sense. Not to mention the less backyards with bucketfuls of dangerous chemicals the better 😁

[@thegreyman7449]

You've got to admire this guys positive attitude!

[@thubprint]

😁

[@greatoutdoors8678]

Love the ending its so true that's the best way to get silver

[@82gamerprincess31]

I’m with you 100% on this. Keeping stuff out of landfills while stacking investment metals is a true win win that we rarely get in this kooky world. I have a bunch of hobby jobs like scraping and I invest a percentage into precious metal. 100% of what I get from scrap jewelry goes into metals by trading with a jeweler friend.

[@thubprint]

That’s cool! I’ve been thinking about something similar, maybe taking my scrap metal earnings and buying stocks or crypto. Hopefully I’ll have the income to allow that soon 👍

[@PorterWood09]

Informative, humorous, and definitely deterring for me. Taking that much time to take apart tiny pieces stopped me. Your microwave disassembly video, from a few years back, helped me take apart one last night. Awesome time. Minimized trash, maximized cash from a dead, 20-year-old micro. I'd like to take apart my dead mower and a dead washing machine next. Still researching.

[@thubprint]

I have mixed feelings about that microwave video, haha! 🤣 Always happy to hear it’s been helpful though. For the mower and washing machine, personally I’d take the engine/motor off and scrap the rest as tin shred, any further disassembly would be for fun but not for profit. My quick guess anyhow.

[@PorterWood09]

@@thubprint The aggressive destruction with humor was the part that got me. Reminding that it isn’t a delicate process and to just dig in. Appreciate the response and advice. Thinking of recording the process of the mower and washer takedown. Thank you for encouraging us all to make trash into cash at a machine’s end. Love it.

[@geofft3214]

You're precious Thub! Could send scrap silver to a smelter too. Have a great weekend.

[@thubprint]

Ohh that’s probably the best way if you have enough of it You too!

[@sharkscrapper]

Another fun and informative video, thank you for sharing. While I do scrap professionally, I leave the refining to other pros. I'm happy to sell them my material and turn those $ into silver/gold bullion as you did near the end of your video. Stay safe.

[@thubprint]

Heck yes, make the most of your time!

[@sharkscrapper]

@@thubprint 👍🏼

[@donaldwatson6621]

That was a good video, and the end was direct and to the point.

[@paulradke5803]

I love how honest and helpful you are

[@Wackedgaming]

Learning more here then I did in school.

[@michaelmorse6478]

Great video! Always leave it better than you found!! I live by this!! Thanks

[@jadrewscrapper8081]

Im with you on our time is worth more than a cpl bucks. I don't do silver but appreciate your research and all your videos. From Sacramento, CA USA keep doing the thing.

[@thubprint]

On it! And thanks 😊

[@J.fromMichigan]

Great stuff. Clear as a bell and real information.

[@mollynakamori]

What an incredible video, Thub! Sooooo impressed by all your time and hard work. Looked like you even had some fun doing it. Well done! I learned a lot, and here's some learning back: any piece of unpolished (matte finish) obsidian will work as a touch stone. You just make my Fridays.

[@thubprint]

Always happy to see you 😌 I did put some time into this one! (That’s why it was late lol) but it feels good to be doing research and digesting it into bite sized pieces

[@joselbazcom4221]

I'm glad I found your channel, thubprint. Thanks a lot for the information and advice. On this video, I totally agree about collecting pure silver with scrap metal recycling. Even by saving the money earned, eventually one can have enough to buy a little gold.

[@thubprint]

Just sharing my thoughts of course, not telling anybody what to do! But I’m glad I’m not crazy, it’s just funny to me when people are getting worked up when I don’t save each little piece of silver from the stuff I find. Not everything is worth your time.

[@TomTheEnglishPicker]

Nice ! A video right up my street . Never found it scrapping but found it loads at flea markets endless amounts of time .

[@thubprint]

Now silverware/coins/mislabeled jewellery, there could be some profit there! I like silver a lot but when scrapping metals it just doesn’t work out. I mostly wanted to make this video because people kept ripping on me for throwing out silver in the flatscreen TV video. It seems like the word “silver” has more value than the actual commodity!

[@TomTheEnglishPicker]

@@thubprint Ive found crazy amount of unmarked silver stuff its shocking,(plus gold). It doesn't even cross my mind when scrapping and the only thing I have is a bag of about 50 breaker switches that I keep putting off breaking up.

[@AsIronSharpensIron]

Massive respect. I like how you articulate. Job well done.

[@zacherysevier1242]

Mooooooooose!!! He started me down this path as well. Informative videos my man. Thank you very much!!!

[@thubprint]

Moose is the original for sure! Probably single-handedly responsible for more material being kept out of the landfills than an entire city’s recycling program

[@GATA0015]

Your videos are very helpful and informational, and show the better ways of collecting Silver I would love to watch them.

[@alainremillard2044]

Amazing!!!! I love the message.

[@neilrachlen5644]

this guy is SUPER SMART and helpful. thanks thub

[@lars7411]

Wow. They say genius is taking ten thousand words and purifying them into a sentence. You did that here. What a great ending!

[@zacherysevier1242]

Effin A... Well done. Moose did gold... Good shout out to Maine!!!

[@stephencrawford5336]

welcome to the stacking world ,,,keep stacking them high

[@adamdaley8090]

Just what I needed. Keep doing the thing Thub.

[@thubprint]

And you as well sir!

[@TheKeving123]

Very nice video! Keep it 1 hundred!

[@thubprint]

Always 😎🤙

[@TPLeatherworks]

Precious metals for the win!

[@DylansDIYWorkshop]

time and health are important. I like the final method ;)

[@thubprint]

Same!! 😁

[@josephkolodziej3748]

Great job. To the point and very practical.

[@Perperj]

You're my favorite scrapper, my friend. I do miss the mega man sound bytes though. :)

[@thubprint]

I wondered if anyone ever recognized that!! You’re the first one to ever say anything 😭

[@Perperj]

@@thubprint Of course! It's a classic!

[@andrewvogel5344]

I add nitric acid to my cinnamon toast crunch for added flavor and makes it digest so much easier then i eat my silver contact tips and crap out bars of silver its a really amazing way to refine and its really good for your digestive system... Way better than probiotics.

[@paulcoenen7918]

OK I'm out, ta hell with all that chemistry stuff, I will stick to metal detecting my silver and scrapping for my copper. Thanks for the video Thub, very informative.

[@thubprint]

On the same page as you bud!

[@michiganprospectors]

Haha. Bait and switch at the end sort of. I was not expecting that. But again, I wont be running out trying to salvage silver from scrap any time soon either. I like that you are honest about the costs involved and that it is not profitable. So many videos leave all that out.

[@jbone877]

Great video, dude!

[@javajeff3772]

It’s interesting to see how it’s done but it will never be something I do myself. Maybe the easiest way if you have lots of gold plated pins, fingers and other materials is to ship them off to a refiner and have them refine it for you for a cut of the yield. I have not done this yet, but I have enough material to do it. I just need to research which refiner to send it to and what to set my expectations to.

[@SilverScorpion]

Stack to the moon!!!

[@thubprint]

Nice 😁

[@Cjohn31]

Great video bro

[@Mr.Deez1212]

Im with you on the methods for silver, but gold, platinum, palladium, etc. Can we get a video on that?

[@thubprint]

I’d love to do a video on those! I’ve definitely been planning on it but it’s a more complex and costly process that I’ve never explored.

[@vincentsmith9937]

I found a couple of battery silver looking wire harness plugs are they silver coated and if so can I put it in with my silver contacts? I scratched it and it's copper underneath

[@dovem9601]

I enjoy your Videos very informative and Interesting.

[@thubprint]

Thanks! I have a lot of fun putting them together 👍

[@dr.a006]

Every couple of months I collect a small batch of old dental crowns I have to cut off or extract. I make sure patients don’t want them, if it’s gold, I will give them a fair discount off the dental work if they let me have it. I send the crowns to Garfield Refining. They melt and assay it for Au, Pd, Pt, Ag. I request silver bullion, U.S. or Canadian 1 oz. coins. Free silver coins for me! 😁

[@maxsaslt]

Thanks for sharing this story! My grandmother in the soviet times has received a few Imperial Russian gold coins in the same way as patients wanted to melt them for their dental crowns, since the metal on those coins was so pure. My grandmother exchanged them with a regular gold for them, and it's a family heirloom now, that I follow to own. So keep doing this! :-)

[@thubprint]

That’s really cool! My grandfather found a gold filling on the beach once, I melted it down with some other bits to make a ring

[@asamschwartz1562]

Respect. Great Information,

[@rcook2608]

Great video, was curious about the contacts. Probably going to melt off the contacts outside and smelt them down into a crude silver bullet. You know… just in case those werewolves come a knockin. 🇨🇦👌🏽🔥

[@tellivision]

Great video! Love the conclusion.

[@thubprint]

Yeah, a lot of scrap metal is like that I find. Not everything is worth the time it takes.

[@JohnnySwedishScrapper]

awsome video, but how is it work whit weedvinegar and tabel salt, that will remove the gold flakes, but how does it work in silver

[@thubprint]

That would certainly work, when you combine vinegar and table salt you create hcl with sodium acetate. Essentially the goal is an hcl solution with copper chloride, and that would be produced from vinegar+salt+copper, it would just be much slower. Vinegar is only 8% acid so your solution would be very dilute, plus you don’t have an oxidizing agent so it would be drawing oxygen from the air. Very slow process.

[@JohnnySwedishScrapper]

@@thubprint thanks for answer, yes i know its an slow process, mine weedvinegar are 12 % but wonder how pure can the silver be after

[@michaeltromp3414]

Hi i have try today some circuitboards for the gold in ap. I do the same like in the vid 2 parts and 1 part, with the same stuff. How long i need to wait for it works? Answers or tips are welcome. Im new with this.

[@thubprint]

I’m not sure how long the gold would take because it should flake off the pins and such, but I’ve been surprised at how long mine has taken on these silver contacts. It’s been about a month and it only seems half finished. Some have come completely free from copper and others still have copper wrapped around them. I moved the jar into the sunlight though and that has helped. I’m new at it too!

[@brotherskrillrc6042]

Really liked the picking much better not so much of the science, but to each thier own...

[@thubprint]

I totally understand. I got into this style to keep me out of the garbage when the pandemic was scary, and now I simply want to finish what I started here

[@ccrook24]

Where do you get the testing kit?

[@riverboat28]

Always a watch. 🙏

[@gazs7237]

Is there a follow up to this vid?

[@drfill9210]

I enjoy collecting scrap silver. I have another danger from breakers however... pre 1970 breakers contain asbestos! Also bakelite might as well. I'd already smashed into 5 before I realised..

[@90210dk1]

Love it 😊

[@Odenix75]

@thubprint 👍👍 thank you for sharing your knowledge very appreciated it. Very well spoken and very entertaining. Namaste 🙏

[@thubprint]

And thanks for saying hi! All the best to you ☺️

[@jean-simondoiron2783]

Bullion buying is easy in some places but in small region there is no outlets for it. Or if there ia they charge huge premiums that defeats the investing part. I do look for canadian scrap silver change. Maybe you could make a video on that. 5c, 10c 25c and 50c coin were made on 80% silver before a certain date I don't remember right now 😅. There is coin hunting channel that buy boxes of coin rolls and search trough them to find those old coins.

[@thubprint]

I think it was 1964? It’s different for Canadian vs American coins. I’ve seen a couple of those channels! There was even an episode of pawn stars where chum was searching rolls for newly minted special coins

[@markbean832]

Hey Thub. You will be my life saver - please make a video/ guide on wire scrapping. I own a small ewaste business and there all sorts of different types of wire. Power cables, keyboard/ mice wire, little computer bits wire and etc. Please make a video on what is worth scrapping, worth stripping and what's better to avoid. Many thanks!

[@thubprint]

I’ve sort of thought about it but I figured that was a subject many people have covered? Though the way you describe it, maybe I could come up with a unique angle or delivery that touches the subject in a more practical way 🤔

[@markbean832]

@@thubprint yeah it would be nice. I didn't really find any good videos to be honest. People just don't really put effort into making those videos, shaky cameras, lack of detail, and just hard to understand. Your videos are becoming very good content, very good details, honest, straight to the point and etc. I personally have trouble finding videos explaining what cables are worth scrapping and which are better to toss out. Keyboard/ mice cables Computer case wires Ethernet/ phone cables Power supply cables Coax cables Do you need to sort them all out? Or will scrap yards just take them as an entire pile?

[@EugeneKau]

Thank you

[@kirkusarelius3365]

You are the Alton Brown of scrapping

[@leepalmer3634]

Good info. Thanks

[@thubprint]

Did my best 🙂

[@adamlee3217]

Old electronic fans one might find in old stove overheads we neglect to clean the Greece off / well find the center of that tootsie pop

[@westoncarroll6916]

You can clean and reuse AP solution just go down the reactivity list and precipitate everything out also you can directly smelt and purify via a cupel

[@thubprint]

I guess cupelling would work perfectly for the silver buttons huh? That’s a great idea!

[@stevesrt8]

Well done. Cheers.

[@thubprint]

Oh ty!

[@simplescrapping]

I agree with you buddy. Yes you can extract silver from board's but in the end you will not have a profit. I tried once to do it but just for entertainment. Well said 👍

[@thubprint]

It’s about volume right? Now if a person was extracting gold from a fair number of boards and could then draw some silver out of the same solution as a byproduct, that would be different. Silver alone, naw

[@simplescrapping]

@@thubprint exactly about volume I'm talking. If someone could find a tremendous volume of board's then he could have some profit. But when someone has 1000 ram cards.... No way... I just sell them as they are and then buy a coin of gold.... It's dangerous for your health and the environment.... That's my opinion of course😎

[@Vladimirsunga]

Thanks

[@jaredwix5454]

Hit the scrapyard up hard today. Man the prices are up a lot down here in Lake Charles

[@thubprint]

They ain’t bad at all lately!

[@ryantimmins9479]

Great video Thub! I knew back in the day they used silver wiring but I had no idea the many ways we use this noble metal. I guess solar panels too.

[@thubprint]

Right, solar panels! Totally missed that one.

[@hardstylelife5749]

Really cool video, informative and well done, just got a new sub. Ps: I don’t know what microphone you’re using but sounds great

[@thubprint]

Thanks! Lots of people get loads of views refining silver and that’s pretty cool, but I just don’t think it’s realistic for most people. And yeah, I’m really happy with it! It’s the Deity V-mic D3 pro. It’s an on-camera powered solution like the Rode ones, but I tried those and the build quality was just garbage. I’d love to have a more ‘serious’ mic but from what I’ve seen and used I really think this is the best value around.

[@hardstylelife5749]

@@thubprint thanks a lot for taking the time to reply to me! you definitely offer very practical insights, especially for total newbie such as myself. Well, definitely this mic worth the money lol I would say the sounds is really smooth and sharp

[@DumpsterDivingMoe]

Hello! New Subscriber here 🤗 glad to find your channel 👍

[@thubprint]

I’m glad you did too, thanks for saying hi!

[@Sam-gf1eb]

Is there any scrap silver you can find that has something instead of tungsten? If there is, how could I tell the difference between them?

[@WishesUntold]

Actually you can extract precious metals without acid, look up cupelling it's a method of melting your precious metal bits with lead in a special container or using Portland cement.

[@thubprint]

I’ve actually watched a few of those videos from mount baker metals! It’s definitely super cool, but it has specific applications. For purifying silver contacts though I bet it would be perfect 😎

[@theway674]

Scrapping always leads to precious metal collection.

[@thubprint]

Eventually yes, it’s so hard to throw out silver and gold when you know about it!

[@theway674]

@@thubprint Ain’t that the truth.

[@marjorieculp5407]

I very recently found an abandoned scrap metal and antique bottle dump. It was burned up pretty good somewhere along the way. I could describe contents for days. But I want to know about all the metal blobs I've found some are clearly coins melted together because of the ridges going around coin like outer parts of blob!

[@thubprint]

Oh wow, what a crazy site to sift through! Gonna be hard to identify those coins now, but at least some silver test acid can tell you what metal it is 😊

[@johng0908]

Thub do you have a PO box so things can be sent to you?

[@thubprint]

I’m working on it! I have one listed in the video descriptions but it isn’t active right now so I hope nobody is mailing stuff to it 😆

[@RedDeckRedemption]

Keep in mind, separating out precious metal bits is still worth your time even if you don't care to do the refining yourself, as there are others who love the chemistry fun and will buy the bits.

[@b-rone5161]

I like the ending. I kinda wonder about Hazardous Waste and just how much it's monitored or even enforced. Then again I am in Texas not sure how easy it is to get a maple leaf here. But I used to make stamps, like rubber stamps, self pre inked not the stamps on mail. They also made name plates,Award plaques(Brass) and Vynal Signs. But the ink and other stuff, like denatured alcohol even down the drain or in the dumpster. no warning once in the 7 years I worked there.

[@thubprint]

I imagine denatured alcohol isn’t as big a deal, but the AP will contain copper chloride which I’ve read is very hazardous to add to the water streams. That’s kinda the issue really, there isn’t much done to monitor who puts what down their toilet. I’m not a fan of regulation, I just hope people are generally as considerate as I assume they are

[@drewrinker2071]

Can you just scrap the buttons as dirty silver? Or is it still just not worth it? I'm just curious because I have a nice collection of them started but don't really want to deal with chemicals

[@Therealkansloos]

you can also use peroxide to test if silver.. silver acts like a catalyser but does not change the silver.. you will see bubbles of oxigen gas it can mean it is silver but this also happens with platina. platina will give faster oxigen bubbles than silver may take a minute before visible

[@grizzlyaddams3606]

Good one. Don't really understand but, nice video anyways.

[@thubprint]

Thank you!

[@RMMD27]

Rediscovered you after seeing a couple of your videos a few years ago. Keep up the great work man, love the vids! Scrap silver is one of my favorites👌🏼

[@thubprint]

Glad to hear I showed up again! I’ve been here the whole time, but things got a bit spun out of focus and staggered. Work/life balance issues really. But I think it’s smoothed out pretty well now 😄 I like scrap silver too but I kinda think it’s best as a byproduct when extracting gold. Hunting it down in its own doesn’t seem to pay off

[@RMMD27]

@@thubprint Totally understandable. Been keeping up with your videos now though👍🏼 you make a good point, silver just isn’t sustainable while scrapping but it’s fun to save it up and refine it all eventually😂 copper and other semi precious metals will always be my mainstays

[@NeverEvil1]

Scrapping as a professional is definitely a fine art of balancing MONEY - TIME - RESOURCES. How can you invest the least amount of time and resources to make money. However, if you are a hobby scrapper, time may be your greatest profit maker. If you collect a bunch of material, it may be worth more to the hobby scrapper to strip wire versus turning it in as insulated. Taking apart a motor to separate the steel from the copper windings. Best piece of advice I could give as a hobby scrapper - ORGANIZATION. Nothing sucks up time and resources faster than handling materials more often than you need to. I use 55 gallon plastic drums to sort my stuff (excluding larger steel pieces). Use my 2 wheel dolly to help move or load my stuff, have the yard mark the tare weight of each drum, and you spend less time at the yard. The workers at the yard love being efficient. Also get a category list of what they are paying for so you can separate your materials accordingly.

[@thubprint]

Well said, and I like the big drum system! I would have a hard time loading those personally but I see the advantage. And 100% on the overhandling, I get frustrated with myself when I have to pick something up and put it down more than twice 👍

[@NeverEvil1]

@@thubprint I would imagine if you get a 4x4 to go across the top of your wooden bed pen, you could mount a 2000# electric winch. With that, also get a cross bar with a pulley to go across your rear tailgate area (or slightly forward) and you could pull your load up and in. You would just have to slide the barrels forward by hand. You could then use the winch and rear pulley, to pull the barrels back towards the end so the yard can clamp them with their lift, or have a better position to slide/rock it on a pallet. I’m a 300# gorilla, but I have my limitations too. Always gotta be working smarter.

[@kevink.2719]

Awesome a new video

[@pavlovssheep5548]

you can use ferric chloride (circuit board etcher ) to dissolved base metals away from both gold and silver .

[@thubprint]

Didn’t know that was a thing, cool!

[@kryptoking2581]

Holy crap I bought a type jan 3c22 electron tube for 10 bucks and it is made of 19 ounces of pure silver . I made 19- 1 oz bars from this find WTF

[@jacktripper4242]

You have trully solved the riddle of steel.

[@thubprint]

How to turn it into silver? Yeah, I guess so! 😆

[@vitaliyjuterbog8912]

"It turns out I have a lot less silver than I thought." -This is all of us.

[@bentleyalder5492]

Is there any point to asking our scrap yards if they have a "dirty" silver category? Or sending them to one of those "chash4gold" "webuygold&silver" places?

[@thubprint]

A lot of scrapyards won’t have a buyer for gold or silver, but those cash4gold places are all about it. They’re used to testing and determining value of gold and silver of mixed purities, so they’d actually be the right places to take it.

[@kylegeorgebeckstrom4993]

your awesome !!!

[@joeybez5464]

ok i noticed now only this last month that coin shape anything any kind of metal like brass aluminum or copper is about $12usa dollars for aluminum and brass and copper up to the same as silver for an ounce but if scraped about 0.70 cents an ounce for aluminum ect...so i bought a smelter