Saving Gold

[Kevin P.]

When cutting gold what do you use to save the gold? The sheet I'm cutting is mounted on MDF in my vise.
Under the microscope a lot of gold is getting cut out of the sheet. I'd like to find a way to save it.
Kevin P.

 

[ron p. nott]

hi Kevin .. i do a lot of gold work so i save all of my shavings , i place my vise in a large cookie sheet so when the gold falls off of the gun i am working on the cookie sheet catches it and i don't loose any . ron p

 

[Tom Curran]

A lot of mine is on the floor. I know right where it is at all times.

 

[Barry Lee Hands]

If you are working off a bench, you can attach an apron to the underside of the bench. A lot of jewelers do something like this, and I learned it from watching Ken Hunt in his studio. He has about as much experience in try to save his scrap as anybody.
My floor is clean painted concrete, I use Tom's technique.

 

[Kevin P.]

Thanks Ron sounds like that will do it.
Kevin P.

 

[Kevin P.]

Catching Gold

Hi Barry, I have a number of benches: one for gold work; more than one for lapidary work; one for wax carving; one for polishing. I like to have a separate station for each aspect. I'm fortunate in one aspect: I'm the only one allowed to work in my studio

I have something to catch the gold when doing jewelry: the bench has two sliding trays. The bottom is to catch the metal and I have a plastic coated grille with one inch square openings so I can lay my tools there and everything else falls through to the tray.

 

[jimzim75]

What I use for catching things like gold filing or diamonds when setting.
Is a peace of soft leather with one shiny side. The leather is dense enough that gold filing
will not get into the weave. It's sort of like what Barry is talking about, except I don't
like having a cord around my neck. If you straighten up the gold goes flying everywhere.

Then your on your knees looking for what was in the apron. Instead you can just fold up
the leather and empty the gold in a small pile. It's also nice because you take it to
different benches and just lay the leather in the pan.

It also lesson a bounce when a diamond hits, and the diamond is easier to see if it takes a bounce.

Jim

 

[Kevin P.]

Something more to consider.
Specifically I'm trying to come up with a way to catch the gold when engraving. Those little curls of gold have a way of leaping away.
Maybe a piece of leather inside a cookie sheet with sides. If I put the cookie sheet under the vise it could cover quite a bit of space and would be self supporting. The leather should absorb the bounce.
Kevin P.

 

[jetta77]

If your gold is falling on the floor vacuum it up, just use this vacuum bag for cleaning under your bench, or use a dust devil especially for cleaning bench sweeps, gold on floor ect. After a couple of years you can send it in to have refined.

Jeff

 

[kcrutche]

Kevin

I Spread Paper towels around and under my vice.

When I am through cutting and sanding I crumple up the towels, put them in a Jeweler's Crucible, burn the paper, recover the Gold.

Ken

Harbor Fright ---- 3 PC. JEWELER'S CRUCIBLE ---- Part # 93699-3VGA ---- $4.99

 

[jimzim75]

In jewellery shops we have some gold that hits the floor. It's contaminated with
everything that walks in on the bottom of your shoes. All that means is it needs to be
refined by a company that does that sort of thing. I have two grades of gold that I
keep separated.

The old gold from rings and bench sweeps is the first. It's higher in gold content,
the is sent in about every 6 months or so.

The second is floor sweeps and dust collector matter. This has a lower gold content,
and is sent in about every 2 years or so.

A properly constructed shop is caulked everywhere so that gold doesn't go into the cracks
and diamonds don't disappear forever. If there is a uncaulked crack in your shop, a diamond will find every time. It's some sort of law I think.

The last time I sent my sweeps and filing in I got back 2 oz. of 24k casting grain after
just over a year of collecting.

Jim

 

[DKanger]

Along these same lines, has anyone tried the Shor recovery and refining products.
http://shorinternational.com/goldrecovery.htm

I've never thrown away any of my old computer parts/mobos/cards/mem chips/etc dating clear back to the mid 80's, at least a bushel basket full. I've also got a small box of rings, jewelry, and gold plated collector coins, most of which were left as collateral for ten bucks worth of gas and never retrieved. This includes a number of 10k-18k gold class rings.

Could these products be used to concentrate and recover the gold in the above objects?

Dave Kanger

 

[Ron Smith]

Dave,

A refinery can recover any of your scraps into fine gold, even finished jewelry if you wish. I collect mine and send it off too. It is nice to get back a nice shiney packet of gold casting grain. I have rolling mills and can convert it into what ever i need for firearms engraving. I did a lot of diamond setting and jewelry making too, and you would be surprised at how much Waste you will collect in a year if it is your business.

The apron in a jeweler's bench is a cloth catch pan with a wooden frame that you can pull or slide out to catch any filings, but I agree leather might be a better choice, but you can't catch it all.

As for engraving, I usually catch the chips I can quickly identify, and let the rest of them just fall on the floor and sweep them up later. The chips, you can remelt if you are sure they are pure gold. The filings and sawing dust gos off to the refinery and they seperate the junk from the gold. A magnet will get your sweeps clean of steel metal shavings and burnng off the dust will narrow down the trash. Worn out old buffing wheels and sandpaper will go into the floor sweeps container.

I would do stainless by letting it fall to the floor except for the larger pieces that I can pick up.

You might have to call them about the computer stuff, and I am not sure you would get credit for the copper, bronze, aluminum, etc. unless you have a company that you know who does that, so i would send the jewelry to a jewelry business refinery and the other stuff to a scrap metal reclaimer. This was my way of doing it.

Ron S

 

[MichaelBaer]

Kevin,I pre-fold a piece of paper to catch precious metal filings and sawdust.If the task is large I use more pieces of paper.When the task is complete you already have the creases as pour spouts.It adds up slowly but,worth the time.A check from Hoover&Strong every few years is like free money. MikeBaer

 

[Kevin P.]

Ken, that's quick and easy. Thanks!
Kevin P.