Wax for flux question

[Bo1]

Can the wax used for flux be a scented candle, or does it have to be pure?
Thanks,
Bo

[semtav]

You'll just have to experiment to see what works best. I had a white candle that put the dross back in great and a purple candle that didn't. both were scented

[runfiverun]

if it melts and burns it will reduce oxides you need the oxygen free barrier [carbon monoxide] for this to happen.
it doesn't carbourize the alloy though.

[HiVelocity]

Sawdust, plain simple free, sawdust.

Its what you'll end up using eventually anyway. (I think we all pretty much ran the gamut of trying what we think works! Lol!)

HV

[chevyiron420]

Every year after Halloween the store my wife works at has a bunch of those wax lips left over. Man they work great for flux.

[lwknight]

There are different chemistries of wax/paraffin. Some melt and burn at lower temperatures than others.
The scent has nothing to do with what wax is used but rather the quality of the wax. I think that generally
cheap candles have lower quality wax and are best for our fluxing purpose.

Cheap wax is sooty and harder to burn which is perfect for us. High quality wax burns off clean and at lower temperatures so its not so great for reducing oxides and releasing garbage from the alloy to be skimmed off.

[geargnasher]

WAX IS NOT A FLUX. Grease/oil/wax is a sacrificial reducant, meaning that as it burns it creates a reduction/oxidation reaction on the melt's surface that un-oxidizes the oxide scum that forms on top so that the metal, particularly tin oxide, isn't lost by skimming and throwing it away.

Fluxes remove things us boolit casters consider impurities from the alloy while leaving behind the things we want to keep. Things we want rid of that impede the flow qualities of the metal are zinc, calcium, aluminum, iron, copper (depends), and pretty much any other trace junk metals. Things we want to keep are antimony, tin, arsenic and maybe trace bismuth and sulfur.

Plain, pine sawdust or wood shavings do all of the above if allowed to smolder to ash on top of the melt and if the melt is stirred gently to expose as much of the molten metal as possible to the carbohydrates in the sawdust.

Gear

[williamwaco]

Can the wax used for flux be a scented candle, or does it have to be pure?
Thanks,
Bo

Any scrap candle is fine, as is paraffin from the super market.
Or used crayolas from your kids, or any other wax.

That said, I fluxed that way for 50 years until I joined this forum and was perfectly happy.

I learned here that sawdust does a better job and it is also free.

.

[soli]

Does it matter what type of sawdust[soft or hard wood]?

[geargnasher]

Wax is not a flux.

Wax is not a flux.

Wax is not a flux.

Wax is not a flux.

Wax is not a flux........



Gear

[geargnasher]

Does it matter what type of sawdust[soft or hard wood]?

Not really. Having a friend nearby who owns a custom cabinet and wood working shop I've tried lots of different things, and my current favorite (for some time) is yellow pine sawdust, the sticky, resiney stuff. The resin seems to help speed the reduction of oxides and remove oxide scum from the sides of the casting pot (as you would normally use some sort of wax to do) compared to drier woods like walnut, maple, alder, pecan, hickory, oak, etc.

Gear

[Bullshop]

True wax is not flux by itself but when combined with sawdust or other material that will produce carbon and ignited you have a very good flux.
The carbon from the burning sawdust and the heat from the burning wax will greatly help reduce slag back into the melt and it is also very helpfull when alloying for the same reasons.
That has been my experiance.
BTW tallow works as well as wax.

[geargnasher]

Any hydrocarbon can reduce oxides (the reduction part of the reduction/oxidation chemical reaction) through combustion and oxygen exchange.

Removing impurities from boolit metal requires something different, like carbohydrates or borates that absorb and isolate impurities from the melt so they can be skimmed away.

Gear

[leadman]

I use old candles all the time for flux with no issues. Beeswax also works very well but leaves a residue on the pot. I work it thru the alloy with a large spoon. Sawdust also works as long as it is not from particle board or osb.

[Wolfer]

I've used beeswax, parrifin, different candles, crayons, a pine stick and sawdust.
I suggest you try the sawdust last or you may not get to try the others.

[Bo1]

Well I cast my first ingots this past weekend, and to play it safe, I put pine sawdust several times, and then put wax after skimming off the burnt sawdust. Hope that was right. :0)
Also my wife tout I was nuts cutting little slivers off of a 2x4 with my circular saw in the shop trying to get the sawdust.

[geargnasher]

Wax does not flux, really, it doesn't. It reverts oxidized metal to its elemental state, but it does not FLUX.

Gear

[leadman]

Well, whatever it does it gets the junk out of the lead and the metal scum that was on the top disappears into the melt.

[blikseme300]

I've used beeswax, parrifin, different candles, crayons, a pine stick and sawdust.
I suggest you try the sawdust last or you may not get to try the others.

Well put. I tried all kinds of things before I tried sawdust. Never looked back...

[Willbird]

I have used ground corncob too when it was handy.

Bill