Left over silver bits

[ajda]

I think I have more failures, experiments and off-cuts than I do finished pieces, so melting down and reusing is essential if I'm not going to be very wasteful...

Mixing your scrap 50:50 with new grain is recommended. You need a reasonably powerful torch, of course. If you want to re-process it into wire and sheet, it's useful to have a suitable scorifier - plus borax - and an ingot mould. Then a lot of hammering and/or a rolling mill. Otherwise you can melt directly into usable forms - those rings are an inspiriration, Wallace and Pearlescence!

Delft clay is a great medium for simple, quick casting. You can also have a bit of fun trying cuttlefish casting or water casting, for example. Just Google any of those to find free tutorials and YouTube videos. I have several cuttlefish "bones" picked up locally on the beach - and would happily send you a couple for the price of postage.

The alternative is to send it off to a precious metals supplier - they'll pay basic scrap value, normally minus a refining fee, so you don't get much for it (and they may have a minimum quantity they're willing to pay for).

Alan

[Dennis]

Yes Alan. Bearing in mind that melt and assay is currently about £45, sending in scrap only becomes worthwhile if you have about a kilo. That for me is about every two years, but I don't enjoy recycling it.

[Patstone]

Well, just tried melting / fusing and apart from a lump of black crumbly silver it doesn't resemble anything. Certainly nothing I can do anything with. Perhaps your torches are hotter than mine, although I have tried the plumbers blowtorch I have too. It melts but takes a long time, do you put anything on it, flux etc ?