Hi all, Been looking at all the hand pours out there and I'm very intrigued as to how you lot do it and with what equipment. Is there anyone that could help me get the right equipment. I have an outbuilding so i just need the equipment. Could someone make me a list perhaps? costs? where to get the stuff from? Get the UK pouring on the go with the logo .:$SilverGinger$:. Thanks in advanced Happy stacking and thanks for looking
Well how much are you willing to spend on it and what size bars or rounds are you looking to pour? The molds I have been using are graphite and have a shortish life span of around 12 to 20 pours depending on how you use them. There around $20 up to $60 depending on where you get them from and how many cavities they hold.
Hoping i would get your attention..... your bars a llloooovvvvlllyyy!! Well I think its going to be the 1 ounce a the mo and maybe 1/2's as im poor at the mo, got to start getting used to the pour
hi silver ginger, thanks for the feedback, you sound like me when i started this about a month or so ago i had about $200 to invest into the silver. mind you i had bought things along the way and i also put alot of time into reading and watching videos. I have a few different sized crucibles until i have the money for the electric furnace i have seen online. For a good melt i use MAP Pro but make sure to be wearing some protective gear while doing it. I will be filming a how to video this week or next so ill let you know when its up by posting in the hand pours thread. last thing i will mention is the stamps. I have single letter stamps and they are very tricky to get them all lined up. I havent bothered yet to get a logo stamp made yet but its in the mix. most of all have a go, you can always re-melt the mistakes
Hey bogan about you trying to line up the stamps . try getting 2 strips of metal & the vice grips or a clamp & set the stamps up inbetween the 2 strips of metal then clamp them together that will hold them straight . ....your welcome :
Thanks Sa. Does any metal stick to the silica? or do you have to use a flux like borax? just about to get a crucible myself and not sure weather silica or graphite is easiest. Any advice from your experience would be appreciated.
well i do use borax even tho its a pain to clean off the silver once you pour it, but it makes it 100x easier and i find heats a lot faster too. i have only found it stick once and that because i ran out of gas and the silver cooled (its was also a thrashed crucible) I havent used the graphite crucible but i would think it would cool pretty quickly like the molds do. at the price of the silica crucibles i would rather them as it doesnt matter how many you ruin by heavy use over time jet tools on ebay is the best i have found with the price being competitive and the speed that it comes from the US is amazing
thats a good question . If it is you could always grind down the stamp shafts to bring them closer together .....your welcome :
you could always take them to a machine shop & get them to surface grind or mill then to the correct size if your skills arent up to the job. If i was doing it i would do the same thing i mentioned about clamping them together & grinding & filing them in one lot as you do whenever you want multiple items the same size. If your worried about taking the case hardening off the shafts when youve removed the material you can retemper them later
No a butane torch is not enough for even half an ounce, I know as i'm in the process of making some 1oz bars. I am in need of a map gas torch or something as well.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rothenber...as-Brazing-Soldering-/380412043707#vi-content Along the lines of this then Don't want massive tanks of gas lying around so the smaller the better.
Im assuming the stamps have square shafts & are larger than the stamping surface when i say clamp them together .I might even braze them together if i was doing it . The stamps i have are square shafts & are good quality i got them from an automotive outlet i dont remember who it was a long time ago it might have even been from the snap on truck . . The more i think about it it would be impossible to get the three nines because theres only one nine in the stamp set :lol: the six in my set from memory is a bit different from the nine so there goes my plan out the window for the three nines anyway unless you can buy the stamps seperately .
Can you post a pic of the stamps? Either line up the stamps like so: http://www272.pair.com/stevewag/letterguide/letterguide.html or weld a section of square tube on to an arm so the stamp can be held in place vertically. On the bench below set up a 'rail' which the bar can be slid along. Similar to the "AK" rivet jig (searchable in the googles) but firestick related so won't post here.
I agree your just wasting your time with Butane as it just doesn't get hot enough. You can buy the torch and refill Mapp gas bottles from Bunnings!! I have a video on YouTube called "Lets make a silver bar" and so far I have made nearly 300 ounces using the same graphite mould that I bought from the states on ebay
