Is it possible to melt silver with a gas burner. How to melt silver at home: about the principles of melting silver and safety

10.11.2019 Thrush

How to melt silver at home using simple tools and materials?

Metal melting and safety

Melting metal involves compliance with safety regulations and consistent actions.

Preparatory work for the smelting of silver

Lunar metal is one of the materials used to make various items life and jewelry. Often worn and obsolete things you want to give the new kind or redo.

Silver that is outdated and tired can always be melted down

To do this, you can simply melt them and make another product using the services of a master or in artisanal conditions. Melting silver at home requires strict adherence to safety precautions and the sequence of the technological process.

It is possible to extract the silver component on an industrial scale using specially developed technologies related to ore beneficiation. In order to melt down not a large number of metal at home, it is enough to have a minimum set of devices, including:

metal spoon;
asbestos;
borax;
burner;
scales;
scrap metal;
graphite powder;
microwave or muffle furnace;
chamotte clay.

Metal melting involves a change in the state of aggregation associated with the transition from solid to liquid under the influence of a high temperature gradient.

At home, it must be taken into account that the molten material must be cooled. Therefore, when starting work, it is necessary to first make a mold for casting the product. The silver material that is smelted is called the charge.

If a large piece of material needs to be melted, it can be broken into small pieces using a tool.

Making a casting mold is integral part preparatory work. To do this, it is necessary to make a metal box into which a mixture of gypsum and talc will be poured. It is prefabricated from beeswax, which can be obtained from beekeepers. The model of the product is placed in a box and filled with a mixture. After the mass has solidified, the mold is heated and the wax is completely melted out of it. Wax residues can form defects on the product. During heating, the remaining moisture evaporates from it. The mold is ready to be cast.

To get a figured product, you need a mold for casting

Technological process

Usually in products silver is in the form of an alloy with other metals. Therefore, when melting, it is necessary to extract steel or iron particles from the joint using a magnet. This action will reduce the time for the transition of the metal to a liquid state and ensure uniform heating of the metal.
Next, it is necessary to build a smelter made of asbestos sheet and consisting of rectangular parts that differ in size. The design is intended to play the role of a crucible.
Borax or flux is used to protect against oxygen entering the alloy. It is poured into a container that acts as a smelter. After heating the flux or borax to the state of a thick mass of green hue, pieces of a metal blank are placed in it.
First, pieces of metal turn red, then gradually begin to melt. If during the melting process the metal is covered with a cloudy film, then it has not started to melt. To do this, adjust the burner flame and add temperature.
Liquid molten metal, characterized by a bright silver color, is poured into a mold. In case of an unsuccessful attempt to melt or manufacture a product, the process must be stopped, the material must first be cooled, and then the steps must be repeated from the very beginning.

Other metal remelting methods

A significant amount of lunar metal can be smelted with a blowtorch. Accordingly, devices for work (a crucible with a charge) will have to be placed in a pipe made of fireclay clay of a larger diameter and wall thickness.
At home, you can melt silver using an ordinary microwave oven, using a stand made of asbestos or other temperature-resistant material.
To melt metal, you can use a special melting furnace, which you can purchase or build with your own hands. Home-made or factory installations are best installed separately in the garage or in the country.

Silver is used not only in jewelry, but also in industry, thanks to the physical and chemical properties this metal. Therefore, many are interested in such qualities as the melting point of silver, its thermal conductivity and resistance. Silver can be found in microcircuits, resistors, relays, batteries. This metal is used more often than gold because silver is cheaper and easier to mine.

Cleaning silver jewelry with baking soda

Despite the advantages, the main disadvantages of silver are its oxidizability and the entry into chemical reactions with various components, especially with hydrogen sulfide, which is found in the air and forms a sulfide coating on the metal. In jewelry and cutlery, silver will blacken over time and require cleaning. But still silver jewelry looks noble and elegant. Therefore, the question arises: where can I find or buy metal and how to melt silver at home?

The melting temperature of silver is on average 961.9 degrees Celsius. And silver will boil at 2210 degrees.
Silver has a high light reflectivity - up to 95%. And also the metal is very malleable and relatively soft in its pure form. Thanks to this property, it is easy to make jewelry from it. different shapes which jewelers use.
High thermal and electrical conductivity contribute to the use of metal in industry in the manufacture of contacts, microcircuits. But due to the high cost, silver has not found wide application; low-grade alloys are added to the contacts.
The density of silver is 10.5 g/cm3, which is ten times the density of water.

If you want to melt silver, you need to remember that its melting point depends on the sample of the metal. The sample indicates the amount of pure silver in the alloy. This is expressed as a percentage. That is, if we have 925 silver, it contains 92.5% pure precious metal and this means that the melting point will be 889 degrees Celsius.

If silver in the composition is less than 90 percent, it means that their melting point will not exceed 770 degrees. Usually jewelry are made from 750, 800, 875, 916, 925, 960 samples. 999 jewelry is rare, as it is very soft and does not hold its shape well over time.

What do you need to clean silver?

The remelting of silver is an action, as a result of which the state of aggregation of the metal changes, it passes from a solid form to a liquid one and vice versa - it solidifies over time, gaining hardness. The metal you use for melting is professionally called the charge. The procedure for performing the procedure is mandatory, since the method is not easy to perform at home and requires compliance with safety rules.

If we briefly describe the algorithm of actions, we get the following scheme, which gives an answer to the question of how to melt silver:

Preparing the spoon-smelter, processing it with flux.
The metal is loaded into the smelter.
The charge heats up and passes into the liquid state.
Casting of charge into Ingus. Ingus is called pre-prepared molds for casting metal.

Of course, if you are using silver from different products for melting, it is better to group them by samples. And if you want to make the alloy cleaner and increase the sample, then clean the metal chemically.

To do this, follow the instructions:

Fill a liter jar with nitric acid by a third, place the precious metal there and wait for the reaction to pass. During the reaction, smell and heat are released, so the procedure is best done outdoors.
When the resulting mixture has cooled, add saline to the jar, it will react with silver, and silver chloride will settle at the bottom of the jar. Pour ordinary water into the jar, wait ten minutes until the sediment is at the bottom again, and drain the top layer. This action must be repeated until the water becomes clear and the sediment is clearly visible at the bottom.

For direct melting, use the metal that you received, and if the silver was not previously purified, then break it into small pieces, then melting will be easier. If there is no crucible, take a spoon and cover it with sheets of asbestos, and then with a flux, which is a pharmacy borax. The flux is needed so that the silver does not come into contact with air during melting. Pour borax into a spoon in a ratio of 1:10 in relation to silver. Heat the borax until it turns green, and then put the silver in a spoon. Silver in molten form has a shiny surface.

Ingus, that is, the form into which silver is poured after remelting, must be heated and also with flux at the bottom. The pouring process must be quick, because the silver thickens quickly and does not have time to acquire the desired shape.

Melting precious metals at home is a dangerous undertaking, especially if you do not follow all the rules. If you often smelt silver, it is better to purchase or build a full-fledged smelting furnace. Then the melting process will be more professional, faster and of higher quality.

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Melting silver at home - how to do it right

Knowing that work with elevated temperatures lies ahead, it is necessary to prepare diligently. The first step is to remove any flammable items from the workplace. Make sure in advance that nothing interferes with you during the process. Protective equipment (gloves and an apron) and the necessary tools (tweezers and tweezers) should be at hand. Clothing for work made of durable materials should cover the entire body. It is recommended to engage in the process in special glasses with an elastic band that fit firmly to the face. Even one, accidentally penetrating drop of molten metal can cause a significant burn.

Refractory dishes or a crucible will come in handy. A crucible is a heat-resistant container designed for melting. Poorly selected ware for melting is not able to withstand the temperature or crack due to their difference.

Such a situation may cause great harm health. It is better to purchase a special crucible in advance.

silver smelting process

First you need to prepare the form. Mixed quartz sand and gypsum in a ratio of 7:1. The prepared mixture is diluted with liquid to the state of "sour cream". Then you need to choose a box for the form. Its dimensions should not be very large, and at the same time sufficient for a quiet room for the product. The box should come with a voluminous lid, where the product can also fit. You can take two identical boxes. One tank is filled with the prepared mixture. Carnations are placed at the corners. The pre-selected model of the product must be covered with soapy water and dried.

After that, the layout is carefully placed in the mixture to the middle of the height. It is necessary to ensure that the carnations are directed clearly to the top. The hardened substance must be covered with oil. The lid of the box is filled in the same way. After that, the box with the layout must be connected to the lid, placing the rest of the layout in a fresh mixture. After drying, the finished forms should be removed from the boxes. In one form, a small hole is allocated (with a diameter of not more than 5 mm) for further pouring of the metal. After that, the forms are carefully connected and in this state they are fixed with a rope or an elastic band.

After the mold is prepared, the process of silver smelting begins. Silver items are laid out in the crucible. It is better to crumble them in advance into pieces of the same size. Thus, the metal will warm up smoothly and the process will speed up somewhat. The crucible is heated on a gasoline or gas burner. The metal prepared for casting resembles a drop of mercury. If this state is obtained, you can pour silver into a mold. For pouring, you should take a special funnel. After pouring the molten metal, the hole must be covered very quickly with a lid. On the inner side of the lid, you need to place a small piece of cotton wool in advance. Immediately burning under the influence of significant temperature, cotton wool will create pressure in a closed container. Thanks to this pressure, the metal will systematically fill all the corners and shapes of the layout.

How simple methods melt silver at home

How to melt silver at home using simple tools and materials?

Melting metal involves compliance with safety regulations and consistent actions.

Lunar metal is one of the materials used to make various household items and jewelry. Often worn and obsolete things want to give a new look or remake.

It is possible to extract the silver component on an industrial scale using specially developed technologies related to ore beneficiation. In order to melt a small amount of metal at home, it is enough to have a minimum set of devices, including:

metal spoon;
asbestos;
borax;
burner;
scales;
scrap metal;
graphite powder;
microwave or muffle furnace;
chamotte clay.

Metal melting involves a change in the state of aggregation associated with the transition from solid to liquid under the influence of a high temperature gradient.

If a large piece of material needs to be melted, it can be broken into small pieces using a tool.

Making a mold for casting is an integral part of the preparatory work. To do this, it is necessary to make a metal box into which a mixture of gypsum and talc will be poured. Previously, it is made from beeswax, which can be obtained from beekeepers. The model of the product is placed in a box and filled with a mixture. After the mass has solidified, the mold is heated and the wax is completely melted out of it. Wax residues can form defects on the product. During heating, the remaining moisture evaporates from it. The mold is ready to be cast.

Usually in products silver is in the form of an alloy with other metals. Therefore, when melting, it is necessary to extract steel or iron particles from the joint using a magnet. This action will reduce the time for the transition of the metal to a liquid state and ensure uniform heating of the metal.
Next, it is necessary to build a smelter made of asbestos sheet and consisting of rectangular parts that differ in size. The design is intended to play the role of a crucible.
Borax or flux is used to protect against oxygen entering the alloy. It is poured into a container that acts as a smelter. After heating the flux or borax to the state of a thick mass of green hue, pieces of a metal blank are placed in it.
First, pieces of metal turn red, then gradually begin to melt. If during the melting process the metal is covered with a cloudy film, then it has not started to melt. To do this, adjust the burner flame and add temperature.
Liquid molten metal, characterized by a bright silver color, is poured into a mold. In case of an unsuccessful attempt to melt or manufacture a product, the process must be stopped, the material must first be cooled, and then the steps must be repeated from the very beginning.

A significant amount of lunar metal can be smelted with a blowtorch. Accordingly, devices for work (a crucible with a charge) will have to be placed in a pipe made of fireclay clay of a larger diameter and wall thickness.
At home, you can melt silver using an ordinary microwave oven, using a stand made of asbestos or other temperature-resistant material.
To melt metal, you can use a special melting furnace, which you can purchase or build with your own hands. Home-made or factory installations are best installed separately in the garage or in the country.

Silver is widely used in jewelry, electronics and medicine. This metal is characterized by softness, ductility and ease of processing, which allows it to be used in artisanal conditions.

In this article, we will tell you how to melt silver at home. We will also describe the process of casting and metal cleaning using chemical reactions.

Workplace preparation

The work associated with the melting of metals is extremely dangerous. For this reason, it is important to properly equip the workshop. First of all, everything that can burn is removed away. The table should be covered with asbestos. Instead, it is permissible to use fireclay bricks. Place a container with water nearby - you will need it to cool ingots or products.

Do not ignore safety requirements. Buy thick gloves and a heavy apron. As overalls it is recommended to use a felt suit of the welder. Protect your eyes with goggles.

Be sure to purchase a reliable crucible. As such, it is allowed to use a small steel vessel with thick walls. It well withstands sudden changes in temperature, but cast iron will not work.

However, now it is not difficult to buy a crucible on the Internet. Choose one that can withstand heating up to 1000 degrees.

We clean silver

If a precious metal is required to be extracted from the alloy, then the method of remelting with saltpeter is used.

For procedures you will need:

steel (faience) crucible;
soda;
borax;
saltpeter;
blowtorch.

Fragments of silver are placed in the crucible, after which the flux is poured. Next, the metal is heated. It would be more correct to carry out work in the open air or in a workshop equipped with a powerful forced draft. The problem is that during melting a large amount of brown gas is formed, which is very dangerous for humans.

As the metal melts, the additives burn out, and active bubbling stops. Only after that the crucible is stopped heating. Saltpeter actively oxidizes the base metals contained in the alloy, while soda and borax bind them. As a result, you will be left with an ingot of pure silver, covered with a crust of slag. The latter is easy to remove with a few blows of a hammer. This method, in particular, allows you to remove excess copper from the metal.

When it is required to purify a small amount of silver, a different method is used. Here they act as follows:

in a piece of charcoal (preferably from linden) coal, a funnel of sufficient size is made;
coat it with a layer of pottery clay;
dry;
put the existing silver into the recess;
add borax;
metal is melted with a blowtorch;
add saltpeter;
after the reaction stops, the heating is stopped.

The nuances of melting silver

Technical silver is usually of high purity. This means that it needs a temperature of 962 degrees to change the state of aggregation.

In general, the lower the sample of silver, the less heating it needs. Conventional alloys used for jewelry are mainly adjusted to the above 962 degrees. If there is a desire not just to get a piece of silver, but to create some beautiful thing, you will have to take care of the casting mold in advance.

The model of the object is molded from wax in full size. For work use special stacks - spatulas different kind. The finished model is placed in the refrigerator for hardening.

Main materials for the mold:

gypsum;
pure quartz (white) sand.

The proportion is 1 to 7. The named ingredients are mixed in dry form and only then water is poured into them. The finished mixture should resemble sour cream.

It is best to create a form in a suitable size box, for example, from thick cardboard. Foil is laid inside. 4 nails are stuck into the bottom so that their ends look exactly up.

Gypsum is poured in two steps, in both cases it is necessary to act quickly, because it sets quickly. The first time fill the box slightly above the level of the nails. They then put a wax model, lubricated liquid soap. It is necessary that it is half the height immersed in plaster.

Next, the workpiece is allowed to completely harden. The protruding gypsum surface is lubricated vegetable oil and then pour the second portion of the mixture. After complete drying, the finished form is carefully removed from the box and separated - the wax model is pulled out, or if it has a complex configuration, it is carefully melted, heated with a blowtorch.

A funnel of sufficient size is made from the back of the mold. The halves are fastened together by wrapping with a rope or wire.

All products that were decided to be recycled must be crushed - the smaller the pieces, the faster they can be melted. As a result, you will save both time and energy.

The metal is placed in a crucible. It is then heated with a burner. Fully melted silver resembles mercury in appearance - its surface becomes shiny and glossy. When the desired state is reached, the crucible is taken with tongs and quickly emptied into the mold funnel. Then the hole is plugged with a metal plug wrapped with cotton wool from below. The latter, upon contact with hot metal, burns out and the resulting gases increase the pressure. This measure helps ensure that the silver is evenly distributed in the voids.

For thousands of years, people have been using the precious white metal for the production of jewelry, dishes, decorative interior items, and minting coins. It is beautiful, easy to harvest and process, but the list of advantages does not end there.

Silver has white brilliant color, which gives it amazing reflective properties - the reflectance is 95% - so it is used in the production of super-quality mirrors instead of aluminum.

Silver properties

Silver has a high density, which makes it heavy and makes it possible to make thin foils and wires.

Another indisputable advantage is its exceptional thermal and electrical conductivity - the best among all metals - which made it practically indispensable in the chemical industry and in the manufacture of high-tech devices.

Applications and properties.
Melting temperature.
Melting at home.

Since ancient times, people have known disinfecting properties this metal, which also contributed to its widespread use. Also in Ancient Egypt silver plates were applied to wounds, and in Persia BC, water for the fighting army was stored in silver vessels.

Nowadays, this property is also successfully used by mankind - all kinds of filters for water and air, refrigerator parts, washing machines, medical equipment are made using silver ions.

Surprisingly, silver has also found its way into the food industry - it is registered as food additive E174 and is part of many biologically active substances, although the usefulness of their use is debatable.

colloidal silver often credited with beneficial effects in the prevention of colds and flu, as well as the ability to heal from diabetes, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV / AIDS, tuberculosis, and other truly serious diseases.

However, such a miracle work is more of a dream of marketers, since there are no medical studies confirming that colloidal silver effective in the treatment of any of these diseases.

Nevertheless, the scope of this metal is constantly expanding, alloys and chemical compounds can be found both in almost any apartment and in space. in parts for satellites and spacecraft.

Of the "minuses" can be distinguished property silver products fade and darken over time exposed to moist air. A slightly soluble coating forms on the surface, but this is fixable - cleaning allows you to restore its former shine.

As for the beneficial effects on human health, you need to know the measure in everything and remember that this is a heavy metal, the excess of which in drinking water is dangerous to health.

It is mainly used not in its pure form, because silver without impurities is a rather soft, ductile material. Most often found in silver alloy cadmium, nickel, zinc and copper. These components make it easier to work with metal and make the final products stronger.

Exists many reasons, along which there is a need to melt silver. It may be a desire to make the metal cleaner, and therefore more expensive, freeing it from impurities.

Or maybe it was decided to melt down a ring or cutlery inherited from an unloved aunt and create a new modern piece of jewelry of your own design. In any case, the first step is to find out at what temperature silver melts.

Melting temperature

Silver without additives melts at 961.9 °C , and boils when the mark reaches 2210˚C. It is easier to melt an alloy of silver than an ingot of pure metal, since impurities lower the melting point.

This material is so easy to handle that it is possible to melt a small amount of it even at home in the kitchen using a gas burner.

However, the process dangerous enough, violation of safety regulations can lead to burns and fires, therefore it is not recommended to melt this metal in the apartment. If this procedure cannot be avoided, it is necessary to strictly follow the safety regulations.

Remelting at home

For melting you will need:

First of all, you need heat up red hot prepared container. When this step is completed, silver is placed inside, it is better if it is cut into pieces of approximately the same size in advance, which gradually begins to lose its clear shape, as if melting.

When the metal is warm enough, if necessary, cleaning, reagents are added such as saltpeter. Next, you need to wait until the metal is completely melted and begins to “shine” in a reddish color.

The noble metal silver is one of the oldest metals mastered by mankind. Being in nature in a native form, as well as a low melting point of 962 ° C, gave our distant ancestors the opportunity to use this metal in the 4th-3rd millennium BC.

Silver is a soft, ductile metal, excellent for making jewelry, ritual objects, mirrors, and for minting coins.

Silver has the best electrical conductivity among metals and is used in the most critical electrical appliances and components. Excellent thermal conductivity makes it possible to use in heat engineering.

The noble metal was widely used in photography in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Another important property has long been noticed - bactericidal. Vessels and filters made of silver are used to disinfect water. In Christianity and some other religions in silver vessels, the so-called. “Holy water”, which helps with appropriate prayer from all ailments.

Silver casting technology

Silver casting in the factory is carried out using industrial technologies that require expensive equipment, significant energy consumption and the use of rare and dangerous components. Traditional technologies, proven for thousands of years, are more suitable for silver casting at home or in the workshop.

The most common of these is investment casting. It is also popular to use special modeling wax as a model material. Gypsum or clay-sand mixtures are used as a material for creating a mold.

Silver for casting can be purchased at a savings bank or in a jewelry store in the form of ingots. In this case, its composition is precisely known and is knocked out as a sample. If you decide to use grandmother's spoons or scrap silverware, be prepared for the fact that you will have to carry out an operation to clean the scrap from impurities. For example, from impurities of base metals, such as lead, copper and others, silver is purified by melting in a crucible with the addition of saltpeter, borax and soda. Saltpeter binds base metals, oxidizing them. Soda and borax bring these oxides into solution, forming liquid slag. Silver remains at the bottom of the crucible in the form of an ingot.

Investment casting. This silver casting technology is the most accessible for mastering by novice craftsmen. The model is made from a material whose melting point is lower than that of the poured melt. Around the model, a mold is poured or molded from gypsum or a sand-clay mixture.

The most common materials for investment models are wax and paraffin. When the melt is poured into the mold, the model material melts and is forced out of the mold through a specially provided hole. The place of the model is gradually taken by silver. There is a variant of this method, in which the wax model is burned out by heating the mold to a high temperature, and the casting silver is poured into the already empty mold.

Molding tools and fixtures for mold casting

For casting precious metal products at home, you will need

Crucible for melting or cleaning metal.
Muffle furnace or gas burner.
Steel tongs.
Fireproof stand.
Modeling wax. Candle wax won't work.
molding sands
Container for diluting the mixture
Scalpel, knives and needle files for processing the model and for finishing the finished product.
casting mold
Hammer for breaking the flask.
Protective gloves, goggles and an apron.
Fire extinguisher.
Dremel (mini drill)
Vices, Crossbars and Mandrels

It is worth dwelling on the manufacture of a mold for casting silver in a little more detail. First, a model of the future product is created from wax by sculpting and cutting small parts with a scalpel, completely repeating its shape, but having a thin protrusion in the form of a round bar.

This is the sprue through which the molten metal enters the mold. Next, the model is placed in the flask and the molding sand is poured.

If a dry molding sand is used, then the vibro-compacting method is used for molding. Next, the wax model is burned out, and the mold is ready for pouring the melt.

Model casting in earth molds

Casting in the so-called earth molds is the oldest method, proven for thousands of years. Molding sands do not actually consist of black soil, but are a mixture of fine-grained quartz sand and plastic clay in certain proportions. For casting small items with a thin relief and a large number of details, mixtures containing 12-15% clay are used, for large castings - up to 25%. The gases generated during casting must freely escape through the walls of the mold.

A model for casting into earthen molds is made exactly the same as the original, but slightly larger. This is an allowance for shrinkage and subsequent processing of the product. Models were traditionally made of wood, wax and plaster. Today, plastic models are becoming increasingly popular. Plastic holds its shape well and is easy to process.

Investment casting technology

Investment casting silver equipment is relatively uncomplicated and affordable for home use. The essence of the method lies in the fact that a model made of low-melting material, upon contact with poured liquid metal, melts and is forced out of the mold through specially provided holes. The metal occupies the void formed in the place of the model and exactly repeats its spatial shape.

It is necessary to pour the metal in a thin stream to allow the material of the investment model to leave the mold, in order to avoid the formation of splashes of molten metal.

Silver casting at home

Important! Do-it-yourself silver casting is a complex and fire hazardous process. Your workshop should have fireproof stands and fire extinguishers designed to extinguish live electrical equipment. Be sure to use fireproof gloves, an apron and goggles.

For casting silver at home, novice craftsmen usually choose the following technologies

wax modeling
earth casting
heating the crucible with a gas burner.

Of course, if you have a temperature controlled muffle furnace, a vibrating table and a centrifuge, your castings will only get better.

Casting silver at home is a complex process, but quite feasible with proper preparation and perseverance. Good luck in mastering this section of metallurgy!

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