Make Your Own Precious Metal Graphite Ingot Molds.

[BzM0Dz]

can u ever like wareout the graphite molds cuz im new to melting it down

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@BzM0Dz I have yet to wear any fully out. But over time I could see it happening. Gold and silver seem to hold up really well in graphite and doesn't stick like it does in the dishes. I would actually suggest a graphite melting dish for gold then poor it into a graphite mold. Same with Silver.

[YankeeGoldProspect]

Awesome video. I have been wanting to do this for some time. I hope to melt down some of my fine gold. Thanks.

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@YankeeGoldProspect Do you sell any of your fine gold? I would love to buy a gram or a couple of fines. I love panning that hard to get fine gold. Its winter up here. So not much for outdoor panning. Where do you find it ;) Kidding...  Anyway. These motor brushes are great for making molds. And cheap to get. You could set up a little refining station at home for little cost. If you carve a little cup out of these brushes, it works great on gold. Especially fines.

[YankeeGoldProspect]

@IdigHistoryVideo Last year I sold all of my gold on e-bay. Which allowed me to purchase a 3"high banker dredge combo. I thought about selling some to purchase a metal detector but decided against it for now. I would sell you a gram but I would have to get top spot price. Because when I sell on e-bay I get 2x the spot price. Are you interested in pay-dirt with a gram of gold in it or just a gram of gold to make something from it?

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@YankeeGoldProspect I would buy it to pan at home in the off season. In dirt, or out of dirt. Wouldn't matter to me. Because I would just throw it in some sands anyway. However. I am heading out wednesday for some panning and sluicing. So I might not need to buy anything but gas. A Dredge...would be a dream. Glad you made it work. I had to save to get my Etrac for metal detecting. Was worth every cent. Little pieces at a time. As for gold. Sell it on Ebay. Make top dollar. Thats what I would do

[YankeeGoldProspect]

@IdigHistoryVideo I did very well on ebay. About $3,000.00 per ounce. After checking spot price of gold today, a gram is selling for around $67-68.00. But it is going up & I don't think it is coming down. Just like oil. So $70.00 would cover for USPS first class mail with delivery confirmation.

[digger9million]

great video, thanks for the tips!

[lowrider144]

looks a lot bigger than a 1 gram mold. maybe meant to say 1 ounce? It looks like its at least a full ounce ingot mold.

[lowrider144]

in all seriousness, if that mold is what you consider a "1 gram gold ingot mold", i will gladly buy all of your "1 gram" gold pieces for well over market value, im sure you meant to say ounce.

--Good video. Just getting into metal casting, and this was informative and helpful.

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@lowrider144 Yes I did.

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@lowrider144 I did mean to say one oz, there should be a text caption that pops up when I say that. But I guess people are not noticing it.

[00honey000]

I'm having to learn on my own BC I don't have the money for school, I wanna know if u can help me out plz If u can, I wanna make a mold from an old button that my Mom has had for many years, but I don't want to damage the button, do u know if there's a mold kit that I could buy then melt sterling silver and pour into the mold? Thanks

[MrMaypole14]

What exactly is the reason for using graphite? I realize it temp resistant, but does it have exceptional non-stick properties or something?

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@MrMaypole14 Yes. Its much better for silver and gold. And in all my experience does not stick like it would to a silica mold, or a plaster mold you have to break. In truth, it really comes down to personal preference. The idea behind this video. Is that you can make your own molds for a cost far less than those commercially offered. And they work extremely well. And are very easy to make into different types of molds.

[MrJsowa]

@IdigHistoryVideo hey just a question for ya,do yo think refractory cement with a smooth enough finish would do the trick for both a melting dish and a mold?i smith as a hobby and have built my own forge and lined it with homemade kitty litter refractory clay,and it stands up to about 1500+* on a daily basis.you think a sheet metal dish with a good layer of this stuff spread all over it nice and smooth would stand up to melting some silver scrap?

[ylesfitz8839]

i subscribed and watched almost all your vids, but haven't seen much more on melting down sterling and making ingots, is there more to come- thanks Myles

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@ylesfitz8839 Myles. Yes, in fact I didn't make any videos as my friend finally started his youtube channel. Hes the guy I learnt from. And you can too. Check out Canvasman34 here on YT.

[downsouthhustlin]

Where do you get the silicon melting tray? I've looked around. and what about the $10 for 20 graphite stirring rods?

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@downsouthhustlin There should be links in the video, or in the description to the guy I get them from. Hes also here on youtube now. User name is Canvasman34 on Youtube, and Ebay. He is a great guy. Very Smart, very inventive. Check out his videos. He teaches everything. And sells the stuff you need for great deals.

[scouser96100]

is it possible to seperate the gold from the other stuff in 9 ct gold like taking 9ct old jewlery about 11 grams of it and turning it into 999.9 fine gold

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@scouser96100 Using what? Amalgam?

[downsouthhustlin]

Can you send me a link or the name of the people that make the Silicon melting dish and wire handle? Right now I have a crucible, but I'm only doing an ounce of silver at a time so I think the silicon might work better. Do you heat the dish, or just the silver directly?

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@downsouthhustlin There should be a link to where I get the stuff in the video. Look up, Canvasman34 on Youtube. Or on Ebay. I heat my dish up first. As I live in Oregon. And its wet here. So I have to drive out the moisture. After I do that for a minute. I am just flame on the metal.

[boochieboy814]

I forgot, you can also use drywall/sheetrock to make molds from for molten metal castings....and also plain old plaster of paris!

[boochieboy814]

You can also get graphite exhaust gaskets for where your exhaust meets up with the headers. They are perfectly circular, thick graphite "rings",,,sometimes referred to as header "doughnut gaskets." Could clamp one or high heat epoxy on top of a flat hunk of graphite and have a perfect coin/round mold for your silver.

[davezak]

this is great thanks! - simple basic starting question - any tips on knowing if what you have is real gold and solid?

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@davezak I typically take gold testing acid, take the lowest, 10k bottle and just put a drop on it. If it has no reaction. Good sign. To test for plate. Make a small scratch in the item. Or rub it on a test stone. You can then test it further from there to get an idea of what karat it is. Also, check for markings as I am sure you know. Though they can be faked. it is a good indicator. If you have a coin. Check the weight of the coin. VS what its listed as. PM me if you need more help.

[yzrider102]

what do u melt let say silver into....whats ur little cup looking thing

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@yzrider102 its a silica melting dish, same for the little cups.

[andrew0901280]

awsome dude thanks for the tip. and dude i had no idea it was a phone until you said somthing it looks better than most camra vids on youtube what kind is it

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@andrew0901280 Yeah, its a Droid Incredible phone. One of the smart phones. I had never used the video camera til this. Was better than expected. I thought it would sound, more, phone-ish. And as for the molds, you can use a dremel also if you are careful. Just do not want to crack em. Good luck, n Cheers!

[BookofNick]

yeah, I look forward to seeing how your ingots are made. Do you refine as well? (i.e. melt 90% silver coins to make .999 fine or 14k gold to 22k gold?)

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@BookofNick Yes, a little. But I don't use coins. I love coins. In fact, my favorite thing to make. Is hammered coins. I simply take the metal, and drop it into ash. So it cools into a sphere. Then I hammer them flat. And stamp em with dies. FUN! Refining is a very bizarre process. You can take a 10k+ gold items. Use amalgamite in a special cupuel. (the name slips my mind) and it pulls out the junk metal threw the cupuel leaving a blob of pure gold. I understand bismuth does this as well.

[panno16]

Ryan, this is great! Please don't think I'm ignorant, but what why is graphite used as opposed to anything else for material?

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@panno16 The graphite holds a temperature much much higher than the melting temp of these metals. You can use all sorts of things to make molds. I posted this, as graphite molds are most commonly used. But cost a bit. This is just a simple way to save money and make your own. Graphite is very easy to sculpt into a mold. Though, I should mention that you should only go one direction when doing so. Or they will break.

[MichaelSwan66]

cool !can we see you make an ingot ? that would by cool :)

[IdigHistoryVideo]

@MichaelSwan66 Absolutely. I am actually going to be making a video series with my friend on this. It will air on another youtube channel. But I will add ingot clips here when I get a change. Maybe this weekend. I was going to show how to make shot as well using the small cupuels I showed in the video.

[GoldEducator]

I sense that you are about to make a series of videos from start to finish - very cool. Looking forward to it!