lead and silver for fire assaying

[darkelf2x1]

im trying to avoid using ebay so anyone know of any good suppliers?

 

[goldsilverpro]

The cheapest source of good silver is 9999 silver bullion coins. I think the silver Canadian Maple Leafs are of that purity. They're kind of hard to work with as a coin. You can granulate (shot) the silver by melting it it in a new cupel or melting dish or crucible and pouring it slowly, in a circular motion, into cool clean water. You must use a stainless steel container that's deep enough so that the silver has solidified when it hits the bottom - at least 24". A good place to get stainless is a scrap metal yard that has a lot of old restaurant equipment. Call around. For small amounts, those long skinny (about 6" square and about 24" long ?) restaurant containers work great. For very small shot, you can carve a wooden propeller, mount it on a length of all-thread and chuck it into a drill. Run the prop fairly slow, about 8" under water, at a slight angle. Pour the silver directly onto the prop. Pour off the water and retrieve the silver. You also could have someone stir the water briskly with a broomstick while you're pouring. A simple way is to put a piece of clean 2X4 at a fair angle, a few inches deep, in the water. Pour the silver (or, gold) directly onto the wood. The molten silver splatters and breaks up into small pieces. As with the prop, experiment with distances. In all methods, when pouring, keep the pouring dish (or, crucible) high enough so that water doesn't splatter on it - about 6" above the water. My favorite is the prop. Don't do anything to contaminate the silver with other metals.

The last few times I bought lead foil, I bought from these guys. Type "lead foil" in the search slot.

http://www.lmine.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?

 

[lazersteve]

Here's one I picked up at Wal Mart in the kitchen utensils isle.

Look in the section where the countertop storage jars are. They have several sizes with and without lids. The one pictured is medium sized, about $6, came with a glass lid, and works fine for me on batches 1 oz and less.

Steve