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How to Separate Copper From Silver to Weld

When two pieces of metal have been soldered together, it can be difficult to separate them for re-use. Silver and copper are commonly used in arts-and-crafts jewelry and other mixed-metal artwork and ornamentation. In order to separate copper from silver to weld again and recycle for use in another welding project, consider that copper and silver both have different melting points. Copper has a melting point of 1981 degrees Fahrenheit, fine silver has a melting point of 1762 degrees F and sterling silver has a melting point of 1640 degrees F. Separating copper from silver for welding in another project can be accomplished using a torch and some basic jeweler's equipment.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 old working crock pots
  • Pickling acid
  • Cold water
  • Soldering block
  • Clamp or vice grips
  • Oxygen / acetylene torch
  • Jeweler's tweezers
  • Copper tongs
  • Metal dish with cold water
  • Safety goggles
  • Safety mask
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Instructions

  1. Preparation

    • 1

      Plug in both crock pots. Put the appropriate amount of pickling acid into the crock pots. Add cold water to the acid slowly, not the other way around, for safety purposes. Turn the crock pots on medium heat and cover with lid.

    • 2

      Lay out the soldering block on a work table.

    • 3

      Place the piece of metal that has the silver and copper conjoined in the clamp or vice grips and secure it tightly, making sure to position the piece of metal so that the copper can be pulled apart from the silver easily once heated to the correct temperature.

    Separating

    • 4

      Open the valves in the oxygen and acetylene torch and ignite the torch tip. Have the jeweler's tweezers handy so that when the two pieces of metal are separated from one another, you can quickly remove them with the tongs and quench them in the metal dish with water to cool down.

    • 5

      Direct the torch flame around on the copper metal areas. Because copper requires more heat, heating the copper first will cause the solder to liquefy before the silver gets fire scale or other damage.

    • 6

      Remove the copper from the silver when the metal is heated to an appropriate temperature and solder is liquid with the jeweler's tweezers.

    • 7

      Drop both pieces of metal in to separate pickling acid pots so that they get cleaned and remaining excess solder is removed. Let the copper and silver items sit in the pickling acid pots for roughly half an hour.

    • 8

      Remove the copper and silver pieces from the pickling acid pots using a copper tongs and quench and clean the items in the cool water. Dry off and prepare the items to be welded or soldered to other pieces of metal.

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