Smelting without a thermometer...

[Mad Mucus]

G'day casters,

Ready to have a go at my first smelting(WWs).

I've had a Lyman thermometer on order for a while now but can't wait any longer... so how can I tell when the ideal melt temperature is reached before removing clips, fluxing etc. ?

Thanks

Mucus

[Bass Ackward]

... so how can I tell when the ideal melt temperature is reached before removing clips, fluxing etc. ?

Thanks

Mucus


MM,

Ideal temperature for smelting? I use a thermometer for casting, but not one for smelting. The only concern is that you don't go over 700 degrees so that you don't melt any zinc ones. But there is no way to adjust your flame when you are adding cold material all the time. Watching the thermometer will drive you nuts. It gives you a false heat reading from the flame. Then as your patience wears, you crank on the heat even more, so you can get done. The simplest way to smelt is to go slow with a small amounts of weights so you can watch them melt. They should all melt very close together in time. When the majority of them do, remove everything and trash it.

This turns out to be just as fast as filling the pot, because you don't cool the melt as much in between. You simply don't want to bury clips so far that you can't see floaters on top of the melt or that you end up discarding good WW because the heat simply didn't get there yet.

Flux every time you feel you have too much dirt on top the melt after removing clips. If you don't have much or your WW was debris free to start, then don't flux until you get close to the top. Then flux multiple times with a good carbon sourse until you get no more crap. You will get a feel for this. Rub the bottom and the sides well as this will collect the dirt. Make her smoke and catch flame. You can waste a lot of time here, trust your eyes that when you quit getting debris, you are there.

When you empty the pot, don't go all the way. Leave about 1" in the bottom as this will expedite the next batch. The first batch is the slowest.

[carpetman]

Bass Ackwards---Are your pointers for smelting applicable if using buffalo dung for fuel?

[montana_charlie]

Bass Ackwards---Are your pointers for smelting applicable if using buffalo dung for fuel?

flux multiple times with a good carbon sourse until you have no more crap.
I think he's using buffalo dung for flux...
CM

[Bass Ackward]

Naaaaaa. Won't go near them now.

Might be like that movie, "Tremors". Those things traveled under ground too. And you see how that guy who owned all them guns had trouble stopping those didn't ya?

Nope. Can't tough that!

[Goatlips]

Mad Mucus,

What Bass said, a thermometer would be more trouble than it's worth. And the last weight still floating might be zinc, but I've never run into any so far, dunno if they're more common down under. Here's some smelting pictures that might be of use:

http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com/smelting.html

I find smelting relaxing and fun, but I'm a pyromaniac at heart.

Goatlips