Scrap silver

[Patstone]

I know this is probably a stupid question but I need to ask it. As you all know my daughter and I make silver jewellery as a hobby and for some reason I dont seem to be very good at being economical with the silver. After four years of making, and using some of the cut-offs to add texture to some pieces, I still seem to have about half a jam jar full of un-useable bits. What would I need to be able to make it into useable silver again, and would it be feasible to buy a rolling mill or whatever I need to carry out this process. Would it be useful for me to have a rolling mill, what other uses could I put it to other than just making flat sheet thinner. I have quite a lot of gadgets, a GRS system for instance that I very rarely use, tend to go back to benchpeg and hand held clamp so dont want to buy stuff that isnt something I would use regularly.

[Nick martin]

I dont think its a stupid question at all, so good point!

Personally I use my scrap in several ways. I send it off to Cooksons for reclamation if theres lots of it, or if theres a high value involved. They offer a freepost label that you simply print off which is very handy indeed.

Sometimes I use the offcuts of wire for granulation decoration, or use badly cut jumprings that I cut in half in order to form suspension loops ( chopping off the damaged part ).
If theres lots of it, I sometimes throw it back into the melting pot along with a little fine silver if I need to cast a piece.

Alternatively if I'm trying a particular technique, then in the past I've used my scrap to try out forming the points of pins, balling up, texturing and so on.

I tend to sort my metal into three piles too... sterling silver, reflection silver, and carats of gold although due to the cost involved I dont use an awful lot of gold at present.

Although I dont yet have one, a rolling mill seems a great tool to have like you say, and I suppose that if you cast the scrap into ingots then you could potentially make a lot of sheet metal from it, or indeed wire too. Its a tool on my wishlist in the near future actually.

No doubt the other members have a multitude of innovative ways they recycle their scrap, but this is just a few of my ideas off the top of my head.

Cheers,

Nick

[pearlescence]

If you balance the scrap value of half a jam jar of silver replaced with some new sheet against the cost of a rolling mill...the former is going to win of course. It really depends on whether you want a rolling mill.
For that amount of silver it won't be economical.

[caroleallen]

I think it depends on how much time you have Pat. I had a go at recycling my scrap but found it so time consuming that I gave up in the end. The problem with sending scrap off to Cooksons is that it's only worth doing if you have a good amount of it.

Maybe another thing you could try is using delft clay casting. I've not had much success with it myself but again it's a matter of not having enough time to do it properly and rushing it. I know some people get on well with it though.

[Goldsmith]

Pat, you can also send your scrap silver to London Assay Office and they will melt up to 9KG into a bar for £30 and assay it so that you can sell it to whoever offers the best price. Check out their price list; http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/media/3953124/standardpricelist%20apr%202014.pdf

I have never considered it worth re cycling scrap by melting and rolling, the risk of getting bad melts that crack when milled down is not worth the bother. Different if you are considering casting something or just making wires.

James

[enigma]

I recycle all of my silver and gold using the Delft system.
It does mean you need the Delft clay and rings, a kiln, crucibles and tongs of course unless you already have a torch big enough for casting so not cheap.
Ive not yet sent anything away for casting having managed to cast everything I want with the Delft but it does have its limitations.

[Patstone]

Thanks for all your help, I think I will give the rolling mill a miss. Not sure I want to go down the delft clay route either. The only thing that does appeal is an ingot, which presumably could be made into a pendant. My daughter arranged for a visit for me to the assay office a while ago, I was amazed how heavy the gold bars are, could just about lift it.

[theresa]

Hi Pat
Occasionally I have melted odd bits of wire and sheet in a charcoal block which has been slightly scooped out. It is possible to get some interesting shapes that can be turned into pendants with the addition of stones, but you have to know when to pull away the torch otherwise it can end up as a blob! Actually blobs can be interesting too. I once had a moon shape and some coffee bean shapes which made good earrings. Something to play with when you have spare time.....or when it's cold!

[Patstone]

I have melted some things together to make pendants, but wondered if I could um recycle it!!!!!!

[Stacey]

I lay out bits on a solder board and melt away for some interesting results. The not so interesting results are sold as scrap. My tutor melts when she has a substantial amount by heating the silver until molten and then pouring into a bucket of water. Again, interesting bits result ... and the less interesting are scrapped. Sold as scrap, of course.

[Dennis]

Traditionally it's a game young people play in Germany at new year. Melt some low melting alloy in a ladle and drop it into water. The resulting shape will allow you to see into the future.