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 Replies: 13 / Views: 27,346 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6384 Posts |
I have about 3 ounces of platinum that I refined from scrap many years ago. I borrowed an acetylene torch and melted the metal into two irregular lumps. It would be cool have it assayed, cast into a smooth ingot, and then stamped with weight and fineness. It would be the modern platinum equivalent of a pioneer gold bar!
I don't have the equipment or expertise but I wonder what it would cost to have this done? Local jewelers I've spoken with aren't equipped to work with platinum; the 1700+ °C melting point is too high.
Any suggestions?
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Valued Member
United States
310 Posts |
see if there's anyone around you that offers assay services. Unless you're really attached to the idea of having your own "pioneer bar" I'd suggest selling it off and just getting refined platinum ingots or US bullion. You'll probably have to spend money to have it made into a bar anyway, and I don't know how pure your scrap is, etc.
If it came to selling it, a single bar made special for you would probably be harder to sell too, as people would question the assay since you're not a known bullion dealer.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
I'd go with GRR's suggestion and sell it as scrap, provided you get a fair price, and buy a couple 1oz Pamp Pt bars. The pioneer bar idea is a good one but it would be expensive to accomplish and you'd have an oddball bar that would be difficult to market when you want sell.
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Valued Member
Canada
442 Posts |
waiting for the "we want pics!" smiley :P
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6384 Posts |
OK, here are some photos of my torch-melted platinum lumps. I made these by pouring the metal powder that was the result of my refining process onto a large steel block and carefully applying a low torch flame until the powder particles sintered together. I then was able to flip the resulting lump over to flame-polish each side until all surfaces were fairly smooth. The big lump is about 72 grams and the small one is 16 grams. The quarter provides a size reference.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6384 Posts |
Actually, I guess I do have a home-grown option. My platinum was alloyed with palladium and gold and I was able to separate the metals. I likewise formed lumps with the palladium and attempted to forge one of them into a bar. By heating it red-hot and hitting it about a million times with a hammer it did eventually assume the right shape. I polished the surfaces using a grinding wheel and I now have a 34-gram palladium ingot. Here it is, along with a 30-gram lump of the same metal. Perhaps I could do the same thing with my platinum. I would need an acetylene torch and lots of patience and muscle. Platinum has a higher melting point than palladium so I might have to work it at a higher temperature. Sounds like a project for a long cold winter!   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
how much weight did you lose in the "grinding" process?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6384 Posts |
Quote:
how much weight did you lose in the "grinding" process? As I recall, I had achieved a pretty decent rectangular solid shape before grinding. Maybe 3 or 4 grams went down the drain with the cooling water. At the time (the 1980s) palladium was priced at about $60 an ounce so it wasn't a huge concern. Oh yes, there was gold in that scrap as well. I sold some of it (back when it was only worth about $330/oz  ) but I kept this 50-gram lump. Tasty!  Edited by Jaobler
02/15/2011 12:16 pm
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Valued Member
Canada
442 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Nice work Jaobler! We should warn people not to try this at home - unless they're a metallurgical engineer!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3670 Posts |
Platinum is so high, unless your smart enough like yourself to acquire an forge, it will be tough for someone on my budget to invest in platinum. I do really like those 1/10th an ounce plat coins with the Statue of liberty, and they go high on ebay like 300, but I can find for much less at wholesale site, seems like 225 plus shipping for the American Eagles they are called.... Also don't mean to jump tracks I should have probably started new thread asking about Palladium, but is it similar to platinum? It seems like its value has shot up a lot in recent years from what very little I know about it, and at around 850 on the low ebay side for a 1 oz bar, seems like it may just be in my budget range, anyone think that is a wise purchase? Edited by Silverhawk74
02/15/2011 3:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6384 Posts |
Palladium is indeed similar to Platinum and is in the same chemical element family. It has lower density, lower melting point, is somewhat less resistant to corrosion, and is lower in price. Sort of the "poor man's" platinum! The metal is very expensive now and I don't know why. It is very useful in industry (used for catalytic converters) and the price has followed most commodities by going way up. It's about 10x as expensive as it was in the '80s while gold and platinum have gone up maybe 5x. It seems over-priced to me but it probably won't get much cheaper anytime soon.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3670 Posts |
Thnaks Jaobler, that is some great info....
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
From what I've read, pt is difficult to separate from pd. I'm surprised the OP has been able to work with it.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 27,346 |
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Posted 02/12/2011 1:08 pm
