Could someone please tell me how to turn 2 kilos of silver scrap into
an ingot bar? Other than using a torch. I am thinking it might be
possible to put it in a large ingot mold and place it in a oven at
1750 F for half an hour. I’m a little apprehensious about it though,
never having melted that much metal, and wanted to check it out with
the Orchid tribe before I went through with it. Any suggestions?
Thanks, Peter Slone
Hi Peter, Take your scrap to a refiner. It would be cheaper and
easier than melting 2 kilos of silver in your oven. Will E.
You will find a rather good article on making a melting kiln on
http://www.artmetal.com. I went looking for the article just now, but
could not readilly find it (but its there). The homemade kiln
described in the article was capable of melting around eight pounds
of aluminum. It was made from a few fire bricks, fan, and some
miscellaneous hardware.
artmetal.com, by the way, is an Internet resource of the same caliber
as ganoksin.com. A great resource.
If you’re talking about a burn-out oven, you’re going to wreck the
heating element in your kiln if you run it up that high, as well as
probably screw up the insulation, or melt the electronics. I used to
melt stuff like that in a graphite crucible on a coal fired forge.
Go to the www.abana.org site and see if there’s a local chapter near
you. Perhaps you can contact a blacksmith who could help you. I
don’t know how much metal the larger electromelt will hold. I think
if it were me, I would simply send the material to United Metals or
Handy & Harmon, or one of the dozen or so precious metal refiners and
let them do it. good luck.
Other than a torch, which may not do more than half a kilo or so, you
need a smelting furnace. Gas is cheap, but induction will work. Your
oven may not get hot enough, and your scrap may smoke a LOT.
Daniel
don’t put it in the ingot mold. Put it in a graphite crucible.
These crucibles can be had in a wide ranges of sizes. They are
taller than they are wide, and will help protect the metal nicely from
oxidation, so long as some flux is also used. So add some boric acid
and borax (50/50, and put it in your kiln set at about 1850 (not
1750. You need a 50 - 100 degree superheat to pour it, and it will
melt quicker if the kiln is set hotter than the crucible actually
needs to get. In a simple electric kiln, it may take more than that
half hour to melt, but so long as the kiln can hold the temp, it will
melt. You should be aware that this temp is near the upper limits for
many burnout style kilns, and if you do this frequently, your kiln
elements will have a shortened life. Not a problem for gas kilns,
though.
Peter Rowe