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Thread: Flux Question

  1. #21
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
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    i use saw dust to remove impurities and parrifin wax to combine metals i set up saw to make saw dust just for this as some of the woods i use for projects are exotic and the dust can be very harmful. wenge wood dust can act like a nuro toxin when inhaled. but makes some nice grips and knife handles. if you set up a table saw or any saw for that matter it doesn't take long to have a box full.

  2. #22
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    OK...so how much sawdust is to be used? I see "a layer on top" referenced a lot...but does that mean 1/4" or 1.5" I've only ever used candle wax but I've got almost an endless supply of sawdust. I'm willing to try alternate methods to get away from the stink of paraffin...I like the wood smoke smell.

    redhawk

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  3. #23
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by redhawk0 View Post
    OK...so how much sawdust is to be used? I see "a layer on top" referenced a lot...but does that mean 1/4" or 1.5" I've only ever used candle wax but I've got almost an endless supply of sawdust. I'm willing to try alternate methods to get away from the stink of paraffin...I like the wood smoke smell.

    redhawk
    for smelting COWW, 1/2"

    when I stated this...
    Fluxing the Lee bottom pour casting pot:
    I fill the pot with ingots, melt the alloy, stir and scrape the sides of the pot, leave some dross on the top (about 1/2"), then I sprinkle a thin layer of saw dust on the dross.
    ...I'm meaning a thin layer, unmeasurable...but if you could measure it, it'd be about 1/16".
    I cast inside and don't want too much smoke and my alloy is clean, so I suppose I don't need to use any sawdust, but I feel better with that little bit of carbon on the dross.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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  4. #24
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    Appreciated...I just didn't understand when I read it, I guess. Gotcha now.

    Thanx....

    redhawk

    The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
    Not all who wander....are lost.
    "Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

    If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan

  5. #25
    Boolit Grand Master

    mdi's Avatar
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    I use a precise measurement called "1/2 handful" for my 10" diameter pot. Some things don't need to be exact; if you put "too much" sawdust (you did measure the particle size, didn't you? 14-20 works for me) it may take longer to char or burn off. If you put "too little" it may burn off quickly and not clean the melt. Most often I don't leave a layer on top of my melt, I just stir it vigorously with a paint stick and skim...
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master
    bangerjim's Avatar
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    And remember:

    Sawdust is a FLUX

    Wax is a REDUCER

    I use both on dirty re-melts. But ONLY a pea-sized piece beeswax in my clean-ingot casting pot to get the Sn "back in". Gives you a mirror shiny surface!

    banger

  7. #27
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
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    there are no exact measurements just throw enough to cover top close eather way will work. saw dust is easy to come by so just go for it not sure you could put to much.

  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    You should try fluxing separately with both sawdust, and with candle wax. Pet bedding means real wood bedding. While you CAN use old tumbling media, you should consider that it will have particles of metals in it, which will combine with your mix a minuscule amount. Also know as adding contaminates. \

    I've found that the melt works better fluxing with wax. I use more like a marble size chunk instead of pea sized. Im not saying I dont use sawdust, nor that it dont work, but I prefer wax. I think sawdust does better when cleaning wheel weights into ingots. Helps remove the impurities.

    Wax reduces the oxides back into the melt, and helps reduce the surface tension. Basically it makes it flow better.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master
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    Am I the only guy who fluxes with Marvel-lux?
    It's all chicken, even the beak!

  10. #30
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    I just cook down the coww , scoop out the trash clips and such , and dump old motor oil in the kettle it's pretty nasty . I guess I flux with valve stems .

  11. #31
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    I've tried about every thing to flux with over the years......including Marvel-Lux. I keep going back to simple beeswax. It is a flux BTW; so says all the od timers. The new internet experts say it isn't but it sure fluxes alloys quite well for me. I use it when smelting and when casting. When smelting I removed the clips or other non-metallic debris before fluxing. Then when smelting and casting I bring the alloy to temp (700 to 725), put a small piece (marble size) of beeswax on top then as it melts I drop 3 wooden matches on top. That burns off most of the offending smoke and odor. The alloy is stirred vigorously as described in Lyman's and other manuals and the alloy is fluxed. When smelting or if the raw material was exceptionally dirty I may repeat once or twice. The remaining debris is scraped off the top of the fluxed alloy.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
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  12. #32
    Boolit Master murf205's Avatar
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    That is exactly how I've been doing it for a long time(40 yrs) and I although I have tried some of the suggestions I've read here, beeswax works.
    IT AINT what ya shoot--its how ya shoot it. NONE of us are as smart as ALL of us!

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