Sure can, i will need to buy some more granuals as i have melted what i had and im going to hold onto my first pours for trade and what not. Once i get my single letter stamps i will be able to stamp the weight on the back. I watch tons of videos and sort of did it like them and it worked well, the only thing to remember is that metal at that temp can do some damage so it took me awhile to get confident to pour faster and when you see people not even using gloves, just makes you think how unsafe it can be. your right emanance, i had a guy from the US make 2 different molds, one at 1oz and the other 2oz and they werent too expensive and i didnt need a logo stamp either. The borax does help it slide out as the other week i tried without it and when the sliver dried in the crucible some of the silica came off with it. You need to pre-heat the mold for a few reasons but mainly that if you pour hot metal into a cold mold you can have a small explosion of metal and no one wants that. However im sure it doesnt effect the life of the mold as much as pouring the silver into it but it would contribute as they say you should only get around 10 to 15 pours per mold. uuuuuuuum im using a MAPP gas tourch that i bought from a place here in adelaide that sells welding gear. I bought a hand held propane tourch and i found it just took too long to get it hot enough to melt and then trying to keep it at that temp to pour. So dont believe what people say about using propane because i have tried and it just doesnt cut the mustard. Mind you i dont know what the most you could melt at one time but im sure you wont be pouring 10oz + bars with it. it cost me around $99 and it is self lighting and has the hottest tip as well. Ill take a photo of it or when i record the video i will show everyone. As for the larger photos, if you click on the last photo it should take you to my album with larger photos Im going to try and sand and polish today and see how i go
thanks SA_bogan yes tried propane and your right not hot enough, oxy act is the go but costs a fortune to hire the bottles like $600 a year or more outrageous to say the least. i think propane can work or LPG but need a big torch ( get enough air in to make hotter flame ) i am working on making one of these am sure its going to get the heat just have to get the parts together, check out the YouTube video. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxzdqcPzXj8[/youtube]
I figured out why the photos were small. I re-melted one of the bars again and got a funky patern on the back There is a small amount of borax on the blank bar around the edges and the coin Here was the first attempt bigger Is anyone keen to trade? Or even buy? I'll be able to stamp it tomorrow or Tuesday. The coin is around 38g, the pmb is 32g and the blank is 41g Uuuuumm I've seen them done but I'm not too sure if I want to try and mess with gas. You can make a furnace with charcole and have an air intake making it hotter
Thanks for the big photos, looking good . Yeah be careful fellas when using gas. I spent 2 years using an oxy acetylene welding kit for work. Was real easy to burn oneself of even worse. Take care .
I finally got my stamps today 2 bars ready to go and I have more molds being made in bigger sizes I have corded a video that I will upload soon
Nice first couple bars. Couple things i have learned... I should have bought a buffer when i first started pouring, bars will look 10x better when they are shined up. Most people like shiney hand-pourd bars. I stopped using borax, and learned to pour without it. I hate trying to remove that stuff from the bars. It was especially frustrating when i was making my shockwave bars. You will cut your total time down to less than 25% of what you are spending now, if you just have to hit them with the buffing wheel or a little scotch-brite.
I've been reading about the GST tax exemption of precious metals: http://law.ato.gov.au/pdf/pbr/gstr2003-010.pdf & http://law.ato.gov.au/atolaw/view.htm?docid=GST/GSTR200310/NAT/ATO/00001. I'm wondering if there are any special requirements to register a bullion brand stamp with the ATO in order to be GST exempt. I'm also wondering if this is okay to melt down old 99.9% bars that have already been refined and stamped with a brand name without losing the GST exemption. I've also been designing the stamp. Looks pretty good so far IMO .
My old man has a buffer wheel but it's hard to get a really nice shine, I even sanded it so I thinking maybe there is a polish I can use? I'm going to try without borax next pour session to try it out. Would you been keen for a trade? I really like the duck pond more than the others. I'm getting some larger molds too.
You'll want to use a buffing compound with the buffing wheel. You can pick it up on eBay. just make sure it is made for silver. Here's what i currently am using: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Polishing-C...l-/370643527983?forcev4exp=true&forceRpt=true My duckpond (w/duck) bars were a limited production (50 bars), and sold out in about a day, so i don't have any of those to trade. I do still make the regular shockwave bars (all pond, no duck).
Hi Im really enjoying this thread especiaaly all the pics. Would really like to try handpouring my own bars just worried that i may contaminate the bullion that im melting due to the crucible. Do you think that melting the silver could introduce impurities? Also is any silver lost in the melting process. Sory if these questions seem silly.
the crucible won't contaminate the silver. Yes, there is silver loss (called Angel's share) during the process. I usually lose around 1/100th of the silver per 1oz bar during pouring, then a little more during buffing. For a 1oz bar, i start with 1.02oz
All interesting questions! I have been watching the Youtubes of people making molds on pouring metals. One day when I have the time and equipment...
I must say its enjoyable but can cost a bit for all the bits and pieces. You also need a place to do it. I hope I'll get some time late this week for round 2 and make 4 or 5 this time
Just watched deadly 60- they pored molten metal into a fire ant nest then dug it up- what resulted was an amazing cast/mould of the entire lattice shaped nest- would make an interesting conversation piece especially if the precious was used as the metal.
Wonder if a kiln fired clay mould could be used- can creat beautiful intricate designs in clay quite easily
You could but you would be casting a one off, as you couldn't get it out of the mold without breaking the mold. Better off trying lost wax casting in sand for complex designs... Dunno if you'd want to do that with pms though
Would anyone be interested with personalized bars or rounds? I'm also thinking of making heart ingots
