Periodically, I’m asked to come up with a test that a Pawnbroker or a Jeweler can use to test his or her refiner. Here is one test for Bench sweeps or filings that will serve that purpose. I hope it sparks some give and take. Remember, it’s important to perform each step carefully and precisely. If you do your results will be useful. If you don’t your results will be inconclusive.

Filings are not uniform. In order to set up a test that will produce the most meaningful results possible, you must do as much as you can to make your goods as uniform as possible. While you won’t be able to achieve 100% consistency through any mechanical means you can reduce your margin for error if you follow these steps. Isolate your metals. Accumulate your Gold, Silver, and Platinum and run them separately. If you haven’t separated your metals up until now, then let whomever your testing know that.

Weigh the batch you’re about to prepare. You might want to call it your starting weight.

Run your filings through a sieve and separate all the oversized items. Put the larger pieces of Gold aside. These can be included with your karat scrap after you’ve torched them into a button (to estimate their value). Put your saw blades, the pcs. of wax, sand papers, rubber wheel and disk segments in with your polishings.

Run a magnet through the remaining dust. NOTE: there will be tiny pieces of Gold attached to some of the pieces of Iron your magnet will pick up. Tap your magnet to release as much of the Gold as possible back into your bench sweeps. Put whatever sticks to your magnet into the polishing dust you’ve set aside for refining. There will likely be small particles of Gold hooked into the magnetic filings.

Weigh the remaining goods. You might want to call that your, demagged weight. Note the difference between your starting weight and your weight after removing the magnetics from your lot.

Decide how many test segments you will be sending off for refining. Set out a zip lock bag for each sample. Have each bag open and ready to receive samples. It’s a good idea to double bag the samples to capture any goods that might pierce the first bag.

For the next step, blending, you’ll need a large sheet of paper. The center fold of a large newspaper or some butcher paper will do. Carefully pour out the filings into the center of the paper. Lift one corner of the paper up until you roll the filings away from the center of the paper out near the opposite corner. Set the corner of the paper down and lift up the opposite corner and do the same thing. Then do to a different corner and repeat. Go around the paper, rolling the metal into itself over and over. Do this for about seven minutes. Remember, you are working to reduce the margin for error -- the more you blend, the more reliable your test results.

When you’re done blending, you’ll need a straight edge, like a metal ruler or a long spatula. Flatten out the filings into the center of the paper and shape the goods into a square. Put an appropriately sized zip lock bag onto your scale, tare the weight. Then, take your straight edge and “draw” a grid (a tic-tac-toe board) into the filings square. Take some filings from each square for Refiner A till you reach the appropriate weight. Do the same for Refiner B and so on for each sample. When you’re doling out goods from each square, go down to the paper, don’t skim the surface for one refiner, then dig a little deeper for the next and so on. Be consistent. Do the same for one as for all. Weigh the remaining filings and dump them back into your container. Throw your sheet of paper in with your polishings.

The obvious criteria, the best price quote, will not always tell you who will pay the most. Many have learned the hard way that quality has to come before quantity.

• Did all the firms keep their agreements?
• Were there any surprise charges?
• Were you given the choice of metal or money?
• If you took back a check as opposed to metal, were you given a choice of which day and which market to settle on?
• How long did settlement take?
• Was the slower house worth waiting for?

Record these data.

This test must be run over time. One result is not meaningful. Ever play pool? Ever hear about or see a pool hustler work. They always let you win the first few games. I’m sorry to have to say that anecdotal reports from a number of sources show that some Refiners act like pool hustlers. It’s likely that you plan on being in business for a long time so don’t be in a hurry. Let patience show you what you need to see. After a few iterations of this test you should see a trend emerging. Don’t be surprised if the first comes last and the last comes first, in the end.

Feel free to call us with your comments or questions about this article at 1.800.773.1626 or put them out over the web.

Smiles,

Michael Elliott

North American Metals

© Copyright 2000, My Father’s Business, Inc. Posted in its entirty on the Polygon network. Revised and edited in August, 2004 for the N.A.M. website. All rights reserved.