Fluxing while casting.

[Muddydogs]

When I smelt I flux a pot a couple three times while removing clips, steel and zinc weights and my lead looks good. Do I need to flux once the lead goes into the bottom pour pot or should it be ok? The reason I ask is I cast indoors and as we all know fluxing can make even a well ventilated room smokey for a short time. I do use a fan to push air out the window but its not enough if just a little bit of wax is dropped into the casting pot. I am working on a plan for a vent pipe with fan but I'm wondering if fluxing is really necessary if the work is done during the smelting process.

[dragonrider]

I also flux during the smelting process repeatedly, in my casting pot I only use a wooden stick to stir it up every now and then.

[Lizard333]

What are you using to flux?? I personally started out using candle wax to flux and smelted about 800 pounds of WW's before learning that sawdust is much better. So in my case, I have fluxing my pot as well, with sawdust, until I get through all my original ingots.

If your using clean, properly fluxed lead, there is no need to do it a second time. You may want to put some kitty litter or sawdust on top of your pot to prevent any oxidizing.

[geargnasher]

I built a fume hood so I can flux the pot with sawdust indoors. When I refill the pot and add back sprues/culls they all have oxides on the surface that create a dross layer whem melted that must be reduced before casting to prevent depletion of tin/antimony, of which the oxides are heavily composed. So yes, there is good reason to reflux/reduce even when using clean ingots. You might be able to rig up a small, portable fume-hood to go right over your pot and suck out the smoke/fumes when you cast.

Gear

[SlowSmokeN]

I use a wooden stick to stir around while casting in my pot. Saw dust when smelting. A wooden stick does not make that much smoke but then again I am doing it in the garage.

[Bret4207]

Yup,. stop using wax to flux. Just stir and scrape with a dry wood stick. You;ll get a little smoke, but nothing like wax. Does a much better job too.

[Muddydogs]

I will try the wooden stick. How often do you stir a pot? I found that when I get going and the mold is right it doesn't take long to run through a pot of lead and the only time I stop is when I need to refill the pot or the mold gets a little hot. If I stop for a hot mold I usually take this time to add back in the spurs and depending on pot level maybe a small ingot. A little smoke is all right as the box fan I have set in front of the window draws ok.

I thought I had a vent hood idea as access to the range vent hood pipe is fairly easy in my attic work space. Upon further inspection I found the roofers didn't get the vent pipe hooked back up after the roof was stripped and shingled so since I needed to fix this slight problem I had a bright idea that I would Y into the pipe and use flex hose to run into my work area and make a vent pipe. Figured I would just hang a piece of flex hose over the pot when in use. I was hoping that the vent hood fan would draw air through the pipe when turned on and just suck the fumes out of the room or maybe I would have to add a fan to push them out. Well I got the Y in, attached the flex hose and decided to test my theory, well lets just say that the vent hood fan blows very well so well that it would cool the attic better then the AC would. So after realizing that the vent hood fan would just be venting into the attic and if I installed a fan in the flex pipe it would probably vent into the kitchen I decided it best to leave the range vent pipe a range vent pipe and figure out plan B. I do have a turtle roof vent above the 1/4" plywood ceiling I might look into running the flex pipe to and use a small fan to push air through this. The one and only window in the attic is 20+ feet across the room in a small dormer area and there is really no room to run the exhaust pipe and no room in the window as I run a small AC unit in the window during the summer due to the attic turning into an oven and the house AC would have to be set on Eskimo to cool it off.

I need to get some saw dust for smelting, who would ever think I would say that? I have maybe more then my fair share of saw dust over the years but by not having a shop most of it ends up on the ground mixed into the bark chips that make up the back yard area or swept into the gravel alley if I am working under the car port. Geezzzz I am going to have to ask someone for saw dust.

[dragonrider]

I stir the pot whenever I add to it.

[Bret4207]

My pot holds 40ish lbs, so you might have to adjust but I stir for a good minute or so right after it melts and a couple times as it's coming to temp and reaches temp. After that I just sort of stir as the mood strikes me. I dunno, maybe every 100 boolits or so.

[runfiverun]

i don't get that worked up about it.
once there is a layer of oxides on the pot it cut's down on the oxygen available to oxide more alloy.
i wait till it builds up and then flux the pot.
i just leave a layer of sawdust on the pot,and add a little bit to it occasionally.
i probably throw some wax in there about every three or four pots full and light it, then let the smoke suck off while i do other things for a minute.

[Lizard333]

If you using sawdust to flux, you can light the smoke forming on top with a match or lighter. Cuts way down on the smoke.

[Bassleg]

I also just stir my pot with a stick of dry wood and it works for me.

[Muddydogs]

Got a fume pipe figured out. Used an in line 6" heater duct booster fan and about 7 feet of flex duct to run a line to a turtles on the roof. Wish the fan had more power, ended up hanging some flex pipe off the fan so the end of the pipe is only about 6" above the lead pot to get an ok air flow.

Tried the stur stick which works great but have to ask were do you get dry wood? I dug aroung in the scrap area and came up with a round Oak dowel that has been seating in a hot attic for at least 7 years. If figured it couldn't get dryer then this right? Well when inserted into the pot there's some sputtering, popping and splattering going on. I split the dowel in half to help but its still kicking a little lead out. Not sure if its moisture or pitch but either way any wood has both so be careful out there.

[Danderdude]

I mix pure lead with some $2/lb monotype in my Lee pot for my hard alloys, and weigh it out as I'm rolling. The small pieces allow me weigh out the amounts more accurately, since I'm cutting it 4:1. The monotype causes quite the froth on top of the melt that I flux with beeswax.

I tried a large old paraffin candle, but the vapor and flash point are much lower than beeswax, to the point that it autoignites and burns so tall and hot that you can't get in to stir it even with gloves on.

[UtopiaTexasG19]

Go to your local hardware/paint store and get a hand full of the old fashioned wood paint stir sticks...

[Longwood]

If you use a stick, be sure to carefully scrape the sides and walls of the pot with a metal scraper with flat sides and end to remove the pieces of carbon that will be left in the melt.
Pay special attention around the valve.

I am not sure if the chunks of carbon in bullets is a big deal, but they sure look bad to me when I see them in other shooters bullets..

I use sawdust or broken up wood pellets along with Paraffin and the smoke burns with very little flame.

I also coat my long wood handled spoon that I made, and carefully dip it down into the pot and stir to speed up the fluxing reaction and assure my alloy is thoroughly mixed.

[fredj338]

I use a wooden paint stick. It still smokes, a bit but not like dropping more flux in the pot. It seems to work well w/ clean alloy.