Spanish Forge Replication successful!

[Crispin]

The silver was dug out of the waters at Tampa Bay over the last year. GIB and I are excavating a site where the Spanish used to melt down silver. I am sure the silver is not pure which would make melting it easier. Lost most of the product in the crucible. This easily explains the silver clumps we are digging. Using old tools a lot gets wasted. Learned a lot. Thanks for the tips. Enjoy the pics. I used a pitch fork to hook the crucible and transfer in and out of fire.

 

[Capt. Bilgeplug]

That's a very interesting experiment. Attempting to replicate the way things were done in the past is a valuable way to learn. Nice work.

 

[Crispin]

That's a very interesting experiment. Attempting to replicate the way things were done in the past is a valuable way to learn. Nice work.

thanks Captain,
Turned out better then I thought it would. Here is a better look at the silver. Gotta love the Spanish...

 

[cudamark]

I find it hard to believe that a simple campfire would get hot enough to melt silver in a coffee cup. You sure that's not aluminum?

 

[Crispin]

I find it hard to believe that a simple campfire would get hot enough to melt silver in a coffee cup. You sure that's not aluminum?

Yeah, i saw this coming. The old fire nugget theory. I am 100 percent positive it is silver. It was all nitric acid tested. I can go back n show the pics if u r familiar. The spanish smugglers did it. I had a bellows n hard wood. Do the starting pics look like al to u? Find buckets of al. Impurity also lowers melting point.

 

[Crispin]

I find it hard to believe that a simple campfire would get hot enough to melt silver in a coffee cup. You sure that's not aluminum?

and the answer is yes...

Can silver melt in a wood fire? [Archive] - Absolute Write Water Cooler

pure silver would be hard...

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search...+silver&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004

 

[G.I.B.]

I like the mold made from the log. I was thinking of trying a sand mold, but the wooden one works very well.

I can see how the silver turtles would have been formed. Makes sense.

You didn't waste the fire did you? Sausages on a stick and cold beer perhaps?

 

[dieselram94]

Nice job guys! That had to be fun!


Sent from a spun out toilet paper tube (one ply)!

 

[gunsil]

I hate to say this but it certainly does not look at all like silver to me. Maybe a zinc alloy or something but not silver. I have melted down a lot of sterling (pounds) over the years and I assure you it never leaves the amount of slag or residue you show in the crucible. Nor would it ever melt in an open fire as you show. Even european coin silver at 800 fine would not leave such residue or melt in an open fire like that. A simple nitric test will tell the difference between copper, brass, and silver, but not between silver and other metals and alloys. Definitely not silver, but you look like you had fun with your experiment. Now take a few silver quarters and dimes and try them with your system then show us the results. Won't cost you much and you will see a marked difference in results.