Help, please: Melting precious metals, HOW

[Mike Cirelli]

Doc you can use just Borax but boric acid is easily obtainable at the drug store. You can use the same crucible for your karat gold but as Bert mentioned keep separate ones for yellow, white and sterling. Never put anything but fine gold in the one designated for fine gold.

 

[Dave London]

A smaller tank than the B tank is available it is a MC tank, just for trivia fun the designation B stands for Bus, and the MC is for Motor Car. They were used for lights before generators were invented.
( Safety Tips) acetylene can self detonate at around 15psi, so if you have a regulator that exceeds this psi take note. Further never use a acetylene tank laying on it's side, the tank is full of a absorbent material and then filled with acetone, the acetylene gas is dissolved in to the acetone and when you use the tank the gas boils off. This is how they keep the gas at a pressure over 15psi.
Just a retired Plumber

 

[Donald Bell]

Ed, Maybe we Canucks have a different outlook, but the first thing that came to my mind was "why do you want to melt gold ? "
Unless you are doing a LOT of gold and need to reclaim the bits and pieces frequently, then you don't really need all the equipment.besides which , a torch will only get you a nice round glob of gold which will be of little use.
If you are using 24kt gold for engraving, then in order to get usable wire, or thin sheet,out of leftovers you also need an ingot mold, a rolling mill, and a draw plate with draw tongs.
My suggestion is to find a local goldsmith (like me and many others on the forum) who will have not only have the equipment, but also the expertise to produce the stock in a form you can use,and not ruin your gold - easy to do if you are inexperienced.
Take an example of your work and a sample of the gold you use, and i am sure you can find a fellow artist who would be willing to help you.
hope this helps,Don

 

[metairieclark]

they do make a propane , oxygen hoke setup that is portable , but the tanks are so small they get used up quickly , however the regulators will hook up to a larger tank , and as close as i can tell , it is cheaper to buy this because buying regulators and torches separately costs a little more , just buy bigger tanks when you need them, instead of refilling the little ones , if the little tanks are even full when they ship them? or you can go to a welding supply and buy a complete setup , but the hoke is also good for jewelry repair and manufacturing it has been around for as long as i can remember .

 

[metairieclark]

oh yeah i saw a rolling mill at harbor freight for a hundred dollars , am certain it is not of the caliber that most of the people here are used to using , but if you roll gold slowly , and anneal often , i am sure it will work , without putting too much stress on the mill , don t overcook your gold when you are melting , or you will burn away the aaloys and get an undesirable result , and heat the ingot fairly well before you pour hot gold into it

 

[GTJC460]

If you are bent on an oxy acetylene setup, I have one I'd be willing to sell you. I don't care for using it but you may like it. The price is right too. Send me a pm if you are interested

 

[Scratchmo]

Another tip if you're making your own alloys. After pouring your ingot, melt it again. For some reason, a single melt never "marries" the different metals properly. It needs to be melted twice.

 

[jb1983]

If you get the smith littel torch, witch is a great torch for any repairs. But for mealting, you would have to get the SMITH mealting tip. It can do up 2, 3 0Z Runing @ 15-OX 10-FOR GAS. For my gold casting/ingets i use a smith casting torch. I can mealt up 2 8oz and I use oxgen/acetylene 15/OX and around 7 for gas. If you are looking to melt small amount's and not cast. Then the smith little torch caddy will do the trick, for around 500$ + 80 or so for the mealting tip.

Jake

 

[diandwill]

I used a Hoke brand torch for years, but when I opened my own shop the gas wasn't in etc., so I bought a little torch setup, a set of regulators, a 3' oxy tank and a propane tank. I can do all my jewelry work with the Little torch and have grown accustomed to the location of the knobs. With the rosebud tip I can cast a 3"x3" sterling ingot, so can make my own bracelet blanks. Can also cast gold, but it is easier to work with than Silver.
I bought a cheap rolling mill and the gears cracked. Luckily I was able to get my money back, the supplier honored his warranty but the manufacturer did not. Replaced it with a Durston and have had no problems. Get the best you can afford, to avoid problems later.

 

[Ed Westerly]

Wow! lots to digest, as I haven't checked this thread's progress for a while. D. Bell, the reason I want to melt gold is so that I can experiment with mixing alloys and get the colors like flesh, etc. that Ron Smith and others use for making faces, etc. I have about ruled out the actyl/oxy route, :no: am rethinking the furnace route, :thinking: and am coming to the natural gas/air/oxy route as my most likely alternative. I can plumb the gas line myself (as I am an exconstruction worker) and would only need hoses, O2 tank and torch to get going. Please don't stop adding to the thread, though as I want ALL of the info I can get before I decide, which will be after attending GRS's GM program in July.

Thanks all for your input!!! :bow: :bow: :bow:

 

[Mike Cirelli]

This is my choice for a bench torch. http://www.ottofrei.com/store/The-Meco-Midget-Torch/ It can be used for small melts also. I run mine on natural gas and oxygen. I have used these torches for over 30 years.

 

[metairieclark]

be sure to use hose clamps too if you decide to get a hoke , had a propane line come loose once while soldering a ladies ring , scared the hell out of me and her when it happened ,big ball of fire , burned the hell out of my hand , had to close store and get burn spray for it

 

[Ed Westerly]

Mike, I take it you buy the oxy/propane torch and then get nat gas nozzles for it?

 

[Mike Cirelli]

Ed the natural gas tips get very hot, good for melts. I use the single hole tips for every day soldering. I even modified one by soldering a brass tube extension for a fine tipped flame. This torch is not as awkward to use as the hoke to me.