mirkaba
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 321
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Post by mirkaba on Feb 1, 2008 14:53:59 GMT -5
Hi....Has anyone returned their GF wire scraps to Rio Grande? If so How did it work out? I have about 200 grams of oops and trimmings. Thanks Bob
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Feb 1, 2008 20:28:38 GMT -5
I haven't talked to anyone who's returned GF scraps. But quite a few have returned sterling silver scraps, up to $300 worth of credit. I've heard good things about returning sterling silver to both Rio Grande and Monsterslayer.com.
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Post by Cher on Feb 1, 2008 20:32:01 GMT -5
Can't you sell it for $$, do you only get credit?
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mirkaba
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 321
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Post by mirkaba on Feb 1, 2008 20:35:15 GMT -5
You get 60% of spot for cash or 75% for credit...............
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Post by docone31 on Feb 1, 2008 22:19:38 GMT -5
Here is where I query. Gold filled, either 20% or 40% melted produces what is called Shuikido. This is an alloy used in Mokume'Gane. I either alloy my gold filled and roll it out, or I refine it. With todays gold market doing what it is doing, it is worth it to get a small refinery. That and a battery charger and you can produce 24kt from gold filled. You send out any gold, or gold filled, or plated, and they keep a little, slide on price a little. My advice is hang on to it. Period. Same with sterling. I do a lot of castings with scraps saved from years ago. Even folks who are not jewelers today. Hang on to it. Tomorrow you might wish you had kept it. www.shorinternational.com/refining.htm#SimplicityI use one of these and it works great! It is salt based rather than cyanide based.
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mike4bears
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 275
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Post by mike4bears on Feb 1, 2008 22:46:45 GMT -5
now i solve my scrap problem by getting a draw plate. a cheap rolling mill. take my scrap melt it pour into mold a round one for wire. a flat one for my sheet silver. also i use pure silver for bezels. i buy the pure silver rounds or the flat square ones. and roll them out. so i don't worry about scrap. the rolling mill and draw plate was the best investment i made. mike.
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mirkaba
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2006
Posts: 321
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Post by mirkaba on Feb 2, 2008 10:09:43 GMT -5
Hi docone....I agree with you on refining your own gold and silver. I keep all of my silver scrap. I have been looking at building a small gold recovery and refinery setup for a couple of years. I have a few hundred lbs. of high-grade placer gold concentrate. I am looking for an industrial rectifier and plans for a small carbon column. I think Shor is a little pricey and a little smaller than what I am looking for. I am also leaning toward cyanide recovery as it is relatively safe and inexpensive. Rio Grande might third party the refining out which would account for their lower percentage of payout. I guess I am constantly strapped for cash and have an increasingly larger learning curve which may account on my slowness in getting it done Bob
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Post by docone31 on Feb 2, 2008 19:48:48 GMT -5
I was there. I found, doing it slowly every day, is better than waiting for the big one. I made amazing progress that way. There are techniques from back then, before companies made stuff for us that accomplished a variety of things. Dry land panner, home made rectifier, etc. It sounds like the placer is going to be an intellectual excercise to efficiently remove the gold from the substrate. At today's prices, even panning the old sites is worth it now. www.vintageprojects.com/misc/dry-washer-prospecting-plans.htmlGood place to start.
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mike4bears
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 275
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Post by mike4bears on Feb 3, 2008 14:17:40 GMT -5
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Post by docone31 on Feb 3, 2008 18:05:17 GMT -5
That is an Harbor Freight and Salvage mill. Retail 145$ with free shipping. I use one of them to roll out my solder. I have had several, and none of them are parallel.
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mike4bears
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 275
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Post by mike4bears on Feb 3, 2008 20:59:45 GMT -5
heck i never knew that hf had them. this is the first i have seen one. and by parallel is that good or bad ?. i do have a Pepe mill and that has done the job for me with no problem. mike
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kjohn0102
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2006
Posts: 774
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Post by kjohn0102 on Feb 4, 2008 16:56:05 GMT -5
Always great advice from Doc-I'm starting a little bag of sterling scrap right now! Thanks Doc! Karen
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