First cast, what am I doing wrong

[cdngunner]

Thank you gentlemen

[Korporal]

Hey. I hope it's okay to ask a question aboute fluxing. I flux whit sawdust. The kind used for rabbits and guinea pigs. And i experience that some of the burned sawdust settles on the bottom and the sides of my smelting kettle
This is impossible to get it all out!

Any tips?

[Recluse]

Hey. I hope it's okay to ask a question aboute fluxing. I flux whit sawdust. The kind used for rabbits and guinea pigs. And i experience that some of the burned sawdust settles on the bottom and the sides of my smelting kettle
This is impossible to get it all out!

Any tips?

I use a cast iron pot to smelt in. Over here in Texas, we refer to them as a "Dutch Oven," not sure what the term would be over in your neck of the woods. Last time I was in Norway, it was training your Air Force right after y'all bought a bunch of General Dynamics F-16s from us--1980, I think it was.

I do a bit of woodworking now and then, so I keep the sawdust from the various woods I use, which is mainly pine--and it seems to work the best for me so far as fluxing is concerned.

But I also use a wooden paint stir stick--the kind most paint shops give you for free when you buy a gallon or two of paint from them. Most of them are pine, so they also work as a flux, plus you can really use them to scrape the sides and bottom of your smelting pot thoroughly and loosen up any buildup or contaminants.

The last flux I do when smelting before I get ready to pour the molten alloy into my ingot molds is dropping a small piece of candle into the mix, igniting it with a lighter, then stirring it in very thoroughly with my paint stir stick. This seems to always remove any remaining contaminants that may still be lingering.

The only time I flux in the casting furnace is to get the tin back in and I generally do that with a very small piece of old lube or candle wax. I haven't had to flux in my casting furnace because of contamination in years.

[Korporal]

Mabye i need to change my sawdust to finer sawdust and also try pine. Hmmm.... that grayish black fine dust that settles down at the bottom really bothers me!! It will not flux out!

[bangerjim]

If all the advice above still does not give you satisfaction, try pressure casting. That can many times solve nearly all fill-out problems regardless of temp and alloy. (You still need to follow good casting rules on correct temp and alloy mix) This will NOT solve the problems with dirt in your ingots or pot! Just put the sprue plate hole up against the spigot and fill the cavity. Depending on the size of the boolit you are casting, you will "feel" in the handles a little thud or tick when the molten lead fills the cavity and a little bit should start coming out. Be very careful that a jet of molten lead does not squirt out at you! If it does, you have dirt an crud on the spigot or sprue plate. Clean it off with your leather glove.

Try it......you will be amazed. I use it all the time with 100% success on my tricky molds.

Have fun casting.

bangerjim

ps.......just to give you a total view of what some say works and does not.....I NEVER clean my molds even when they are brand new. And I smoke them with a beeswax (only) candle. And I use beeswax for the joints lube. I preheat them all on a hotplate.

I present this, not as gospel fact or "this is the way you must to it" (as some on here have accused me of doing), but as what does work for me/myself/I all the time. Do the research, reading, and experimentation to determine what works best for your own personal needs!

bj

[Larry Gibson]

cdngunner

Clean the mould again. I scrub them off with carburetor clean, tooth brush and swab out the cavities with Q-Tips. I then gently heat with a propane torch to just the point the moisture evaporates. You will see it evaporate if you watch closely. I then lube the pivet points and alignment pins and graphite the sprue plate top and bottom.

Melt the alloy in the Lee pot and set the thermostat on 8. The numbers mean little as far as alloy temp go as each alloy is different and the numbers are not necessarily calibrated to temp anyway. Adjust the temp up or down as needed. I prefer casting at 700 - 725 degrees which is hotter than many suggest but I get excellent bullets and few rejects. I prefer to adjust my casting tempo or use multiple moulds than to casting with a colder alloy. I found with Lee pots, especially the 10 pounders, that the thermostat needs adjusting up or down as the level of alloy goes up or down also. Add 2% tin to the melted COWWs and let the smelted alloy "stew" for 10 - 15 minutes then flux several times.

Larry Gibson

[cdngunner]

Hey. I hope it's okay to ask a question aboute fluxing. I flux whit sawdust. The kind used for rabbits and guinea pigs. And i experience that some of the burned sawdust settles on the bottom and the sides of my smelting kettle
This is impossible to get it all out!

Any tips?

I have had similar experience. After fluxing and pouring ingots, when I tilt the pot to one side it seems to release sand like stuff which has been under the lead.

All in all this is all very educational to me.

[cbrick]

I flux whit sawdust. The kind used for rabbits and guinea pigs. And i experience that some of the burned sawdust settles on the bottom and the sides of my smelting kettle. This is impossible to get it all out! Any tips?

With the density of sawdust or the carbon once it's reduced to ash and the density molten lead it is not possible for sawdust to settle below the surface of the melt. Whatever is collecting on the bottom and the sides of your pot is something that was in the alloy or in the wood chips your using.

I've been using sawdust exclusively for many years and have never experienced what your describing so I'm at a loos to explain it other than it's a contaminate from the alloy or wood chips.

Rick

[Korporal]

Exactly what im talking about. I thought everything floated on lead?

[Korporal]

I tried to flux one pot only with candlewax and... no sand like substanse under the lead in the pot

[huntnman]

In the distant past, when I didn't know better i used my production pot to melt down bulk scrap into ingots. Had those same spots (junk in the alloy). After learning better, good pot clean out, my problem went away. Greg<huntnman

[cdngunner]

Just finished melting down another 20 pounds of wheel weights.

Saw dust with the clips
skim
Saw dust after clip removal
skim
Candle after saw dust ashes removed
skim
Stir Stir Stir
skim
Could feel the grit at the bottom
Candle wax stir stir scrape, use a wooden stick

Saw very, very little of the sand "stuff" at the bottom of the pot when I was done

So how much stirring are you supposed to do? I thought that to much stirring oxidizes the tin?