Casting grain or bits of sterling silver?

As ever help and advice requested!
I have a source of sterling silver from a friend…..all sterling silver. All unwanted table ware and she is willing to let me buy this at scrap value (currently 43p per gram, I believe) this appears to be about 33% less than casting grain. Are there any extra precautions I should take using scrap rather than grain? I am looking to produce wires, round, square and rectangular section and hopefully some sheet. I have the Cookson budget roller. I realise a lot of annealing after hammering then annealing repeatedly after rolling is going to be de rigueur! I have also heard one should use borax powder……are there any recommended books on this subject available?
David Ruedeleglise


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I would say grab it, yes use borax when you melt in the crucible, re hammering after casting if you are going to put it through the rolling mill don't worry about hammering, I know this a contentious issue but I have done it this way for years and never had any problems, also check that the silver is as marked as Sterling, really it is no different to using grain.

If you order borax powder, Cooksons class it as a hazardous product and send it via DHL and with a mandatory signature ( even now apparently). You don't get a slot and it can be any time until "close of business" that day. Whatever that means

After 3 missed deliveries date waiting in for them all day DHL are currently my least favourite courier. As it happens the only way I knew it had been delivered was a flurry of messages from DHL and I then found it in my front garden. Lucky I found it as there was a fair amount of silver in the package too.

I have enough borax now to last me several lifetimes but in the unlikely event I need more I'd choose a different supplier

That's interesting, I buy by the kilo at the local natural food shop, don't need any permits or anything like that can't be considered too hazardous here it just sits among the nuts and flour and all the munchies.

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Originally Posted by china

That's interesting, I buy by the kilo at the local natural food shop, don't need any permits or anything like that can't be considered too hazardous here it just sits among the nuts and flour and all the munchies.

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There was an EU ruling which deemed it as hazardous for cleaning etc. It is still available on a search but I see Amazon sell a substitute for cleaning purposes.
I’ve found if you buy these things from Cookson with a bigger order and free delivery you don’t have to pay their whopping hazardous article charge which is what I do with auflux.
We aren’t signing for anything up here or at least with our postie and couriers. Postie signs for us and the couriers ring the bell and walk away. A customer 20 miles away had her recorded delivery taken back to Dundee though

You may need to watch the age of the cutlery the older stuff sometimes contained nickel.

I was given nearly a kilo of silver cutlery one time …. Ended up with 150g …. Lot of fake and worn marks and hallmarks…. Test as much as possible … not worth contaminating a good batch with something small that you might have missed. … Nick