55 years of film

[Mark Daiute]

I can't remember when I first started casting but it was before I was 10, with my dad, in an unventilated basement. In all these years I've been dealing with the film over my melt. Flux, cast flux cast flux cast. When dealing with a 0ne or 2 cavity mold its no big deal but when using a 4-cavity mold the film is a real hinderance, it interferes with the stream from the ladle you need for good mold fill-out. I'm open to any comments.

Hardwood sawdust over the melt? Charcoal for a flux?

You would think that after more than 55 years of casting I would have an answer but as I said, with a 2-cavity mold it was not much of an issue.

[Dusty Bannister]

Rowell ladle?

[Mark Daiute]

Rowell ladle?

Don't even know what that is. I think the ladle I am using is an ancient Lyman ladle.

[Mark Daiute]

just looked them up. Interesting. Anyone here using one?

[Chill Wills]

Your Lyman ladle works just like the Rowel - it is just smaller. No advantage there as they do the same thing. The Rowel just comes in sizes that are large to much larger than a casting ladle. Some people cast with the small Rowell one pounder. I have years ago and went back to a regular casting ladle.

The bottom pour ladle address getting a clean pour but in your case, the question of a "film" or skin on the top of the pot remains. It is oxidized metal and is just part of casting here on earth in air - in a non- O2 atmosphere there is no problem. Not something we can do at home.
Bottom pour pots get around this problem but if you like to ladle cast, and I do, we just live with the minor inconvenience.

[Mark Daiute]

Your Lyman ladle works just like the Rowel - it is just smaller. No advantage there as they do the same thing. The Rowel just comes in sizes that are large to much larger than a casting ladle. Some people cast with the small Rowell one pounder. I have years ago and went back to a regular casting ladle.

The bottom pour ladle address getting a clean pour but in your case, the question of a "film" or skin on the top of the pot remains. It is oxidized metal and is just part of casting here on earth in air - in a non- O2 atmosphere there is not problem.

Chill Wills, thanks for the response. I bet some hardwood sawdust over the top might make life easier.

[Chill Wills]

I assumed you were casting with a ladle. Yes, sawdust on top works well with a bottom pour pot.

[Mark Daiute]

I assumed you were casting with a ladle. Yes, sawdust on top works well with a bottom pour pot.

I have a lead pot that holds 40lbs of alloy, give or take. I am indeed using a ladle.

[seetrout]

Just ignore the film. When you dip the ladle use it to push the film to the side as you dip in. You can let a surprising amount of "stuff" build up in the pot before it becomes necessary to flux and skim.

[GhostHawk]

I'm with Seatrout.

I skim once when alloy is melted.
After that I just use my ladle. I'm using an old Lyman.

A pea sized chunk of wax or lube will buy you some time, but then you have smoking coming up. Fact of life and casting, just learn to work around it.

[country gent]

I cast from a 100 lb+ with a ladle. I use either a lyman or rcbs ladle with the spouts opened up to .205 dia. I flux when starting with wood chips and paraffin. I run around 700-750* depending on bullet and mould being used.

I have a simple routine that helps slow the skim forming I keep the ladle in the pot when not pouring. When I fill it to pour I push it down to bottom of pot and make a circle 360*. This pulls the skim from the ladle and fills with good lead. It also helps stir the surface bac in to the mix. Once the ladle is full and coming thru the surface there is no room for anything else

[winelover]

I'm using either a RCBS Pro Melt, Lyman Mag 25 or a RCBS Easy Melt, depending on the alloy I need, using a #2 Rowell ladle. The #2 fits in them all and takes up most of the air space, when returned to the pot, between pours. Thereby reducing the melt to oxidation. I can cast for several hours, without having to flux, again. BTW, I removed the handles on the bottom pours as well as locked down the nozzle rods.

Winelover

[RogerDat]

Smaller the pot diameter the less surface is in contact with the air. Wax bit will help, I use a paint stir stick to skim the surface crud to the edge, then every so often I either drop in some wax or use a bent table spoon to scoop the skimmed surface crud out. Takes just a few seconds. Swipe, swipe, swipe with the stir stick to move skin to one pile, scoop out with spoon. Or drop in the wax. I'm working from a Lee Magnum Melter 20# just for ladle casting. No hardware inside for bottom pour that would get in the way.

I use a hot plate to pre-warm the mold and skimming spoon. I leave the hot plate on so the spoon stays hot, and I can set the mold and/or ladle there if I take a break. I use the Lyman lead dipper which is way lighter than even the smallest Rowell bottom pour, the Rowell also has a spout that is too wide to feed right down the sprue hole or pressure cast. Still could be useful for larger caliber multi cavity molds I suppose.

As others have said the skin is just oxidation, one deals with it if one ladle casts or when making or mixing ingots into alloy. One thing to note the skin is sort of rich in tin oxides since the tin oxidizes faster than the lead, at lower temperature. So I collect those skimming's to remelt and use wood chunk to crush the metal out and wax to drive the metals out. It all becomes part of the big (10 pound or so) ingot made from skimming's accumulated when smelting or casting. Fill up around 3 or 4 bread loaf pans with skimming's and get 10 pounds or so of metal back out.

[gwpercle]

What film ? After fluxing , I do a three step flux , there is no film ..any crud that comes to the surface you skim it off and discard it . Are you skimming after each flux .
What temperature is your metal when this film forms and what does it look like .
Post some photo's maybe ?

My fluxing method:
1. Marvelux, stir in well with a wooden paddle.
2. Cedar shavings from wood pencil sharpener, large pinch , stir with wood paddle
3. Beeswax , size of a green pea , toss on top of shavings , stir - skim, stir- skim , stir - skim until no more crud comes up to the surface .
With a 20 lb. pot of metal I might repeat this to make sure my melt is as clean as possible .

I have found using only one type of flux doesn't do a totally complete job..
Marvelux + cedar wood shavings + beeswax = complete flux job and clean melt .
Gary

[dondiego]

What film ? After fluxing , I do a three step flux , there is no film ..any crud that comes to the surface you skim it off and discard it . Are you skimming after each flux .
What temperature is your metal when this film forms and what does it look like .
Post some photo's maybe ?

My fluxing method:
1. Marvelux, stir in well with a wooden paddle.
2. Cedar shavings from wood pencil sharpener, large pinch , stir with wood paddle
3. Beeswax , size of a green pea , toss on top of shavings , stir - skim, stir- skim , stir - skim until no more crud comes up to the surface .
With a 20 lb. pot of metal I might repeat this to make sure my melt is as clean as possible .

I have found using only one type of flux doesn't do a totally complete job..
Marvelux + cedar wood shavings + beeswax = complete flux job and clean melt .
Gary

Are you using a ladle to cast?

[bumpo628]

Try a Lyman ladle. They have a hole in the side that basically allows you to pour from the bottom of the ladle and avoid the film.