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Pardon if this has been asked before...Anyone ever try to reclaim scraps and bits of gold leaf. I've got 5 years worth of pieces of gold leaf on paper and loose. Much too small to work with but fills up a ziplock fairly well...just figured if there was a way, heck I might have an ounce or so. Seeing the price today of gold, might be worth my while.
-------------------- Scott Eckland Chelsea Signs web: chelseasigns.com email: scott@chelseasigns.com 734.475.9704 Posts: 198 | From: Michigan | Registered: Jun 2002
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Many of the old time gold guys would keep a skewing box filled with the small bits of loose gold and then have them melted down into a ring or piece of jewelry, or just a little nugget of gold.
It takes a lot of scrap gold to make up a nugget.
I have a box that I've been keeping for about thirty years or so, but since I don't do a large amount of gold leaf it probably isn't worth a large sum of money. I'll leave it for my boys or grandkids and they can do whatever they want with it.
Or I might just see how big of a nugget it would make.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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To the best of my knowledge, some of the guys just stuffed the rouge paper, cotton and everything in a box and let the smelting process burn off everything but the gold.
I just scrape off the little pieces with my pocket knife.
Over the years I've kept a Dust Buster vacuum that is dedicated to the job of sucking up the gold that flies around everywhere. I just dump the little bag full of gold into a wood jewelry box.
[ September 17, 2010, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Raymond Chapman ]
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I use all my skewing. When gilding small little letters, I lay leaf on the face as normal. Then you brush the loose leaf into the sides(returns). Then sprinkle skewings from my jar all over them to fill any gaps. I save all my scraps. I have saved all the skewings fom least 50 PACKS of gold! DON'T MIX YOUR GOLD. 23K seperate 18,12K etc.
-------------------- John Arnott El Cajon CA 619 596-9989 signgraphics1@aol.com http://www.signgraphics1.com Posts: 1443 | From: El Cajon CA usa | Registered: Dec 1998
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...Rick Glawson used alot of gold and saved enough skewings to make a ring out of. Years ago he wrote an article for a sign mag. (SOT?) on recycling it. As I remember, (some steps were) first burn the gold flecked paper and cotton, then (i believe) the ashes are reduced further with sulfuric (?) acid ...I don't remember the rest. ... I never tried it, but this was a complicated process, that was very dangerous and fumy.
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Burn the papers and put the asses in some acid. Cook it so that the carbon will bubble out as CO2. Cook it some more to get away of the excess water. Then send it to a gold refiner. Send it to two or three refiners and ask a quote first. The best offer will be yours.
[ September 18, 2010, 01:11 PM: Message edited by: Erik Winkler ]
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