Sawdust

[qajaq59]

Never plant a black walnut next to a driveway either or you will have the biggest mess you ever saw.

[Oyeboten]

I imaging using a Poison Ivy or Poison Sumac or maybe Oleander Stem for sitirring would make for some interestig fumes also.


I use Wood Lathe Shavings to toss on top of the Melt.


A wild/feral Cat who I am on good terms with, if she gets locked in, she pees into the Wood Lathe shavings on the floor.

When I get a hand full of those shavings onto the Melt, I can tell...Lol...

[les265]

I just recently tried some sawdust and it definitely worked better than my previous method of using wax. Especially leaving a layer on top to stop oxidation. I used pine dust because that is what I had available in my table saw. Do you guys know if hardwood dust works better than pine?

[qajaq59]

Cedar smells better. But other then that I don't think it matters.

[sha-ul]

Cedar smells better. But other then that I don't think it matters.

are you using it for potpourri or for flux?

[qajaq59]

I'm primarily fluxing with a hardwood stick and using the cedar on top. A charred stick seems to flux better because it gets the carbon to the bottom of the melt. I don't like the smoke and flare up of the wax, although I used to use it way back.

[cajun shooter]

I will say that our forum Member Pat Marlin sells wood shavings. THEY ARE NOT SAWDUST! He packs a box so tight with them that they last foreever. After I used them about two years ago I will not go back to any other flux. Not only does it remove more dross than others it burns with a nice smell. As others have said you also leave it on top until you add more lead and start over. Pat's shavings are the best!!!!

[dnepr]

Any one try pressure treated wood , I go through a couple of lifts of pressure treated wood every summer at my work so there is lots of sawdust , I know it will be toxic ( your not supposed to burn it) but I cast outside so not to worried about that . at one tim they used arsenic to treat wood so it might have helped with the heat-treatability of the boolits but I don't know what they use now . All I know for sure about it is that it really dries out your hands gloves are kinda a must have at work

[sha-ul]

Any one try pressure treated wood , I go through a couple of lifts of pressure treated wood every summer at my work so there is lots of sawdust , I know it will be toxic ( your not supposed to burn it) but I cast outside so not to worried about that . at one tim they used arsenic to treat wood so it might have helped with the heat-treatability of the boolits but I don't know what they use now . All I know for sure about it is that it really dries out your hands gloves are kinda a must have at work

with the arsenic& other toxic compounds, I wouldn't play Russian roulette

[qajaq59]

No, you're better off just avoiding the treated wood.

[buck1]

Hay I wonder if dryed out coffee grounds would be good. Talk about a hot cup of Joe.

[Cloudpeak]

Hay I wonder if dryed out coffee grounds would be good. Talk about a hot cup of Joe.

I think that would smell good. Might have to try it.

I save the clipped heads off my maduro cigars and it does a good job of fluxing. I let it float on top of my bottom pour. Smells great!

[dunkel]

I think I get the basic idea of flux, but maybe someone can explain it a little more precisely to me. Do you just start melting lead, in whatever container you're using, and then just dump a handful of sawdust into the mix? Stir it in? Am I totally misunderstanding the process?

Thanks.

[cbrick]

Just put enough on top to cover the melt, stir and scrape the sides and bottom of the pot. If bottom pouring leave it on top of the melt as an oxygen barrier. If ladle casting skim off the ash with a spoon. Sawdust does a good job of reducing tin and antimony back into the melt and removing other things that you don't want in the melt.

Here a great article on fluxing explaining that process.

The Simple Act of Fluxing by Glen Fryxell

Rick

[dragonrider]

this has been said before but it cannot be said enough, when using sawdust put a handfull on top of your melt and let it burn to ash BEFORE you mix it up. No matter how dry you think it is, IT AIN'T.

[qajaq59]

No matter how dry you think it is, IT AIN'T.

Yup, and the dry stirring stick isn't all that dry either. Put it into the melt slowly.

[onesonek]

Hay I wonder if dryed out coffee grounds would be good. Talk about a hot cup of Joe.

I wondered that too. did a search and seen coffee grounds brought up a few timesm, but haven't seen where someone has tried it. Don't know that I need to consider it at this time,,,,I bought some CFF,,,think I need another life time to use that up. Looks to me that box will process a ton or 2 of alloy,,could be wrong there, but a lot none the less.

Now on another point with saw dust or similar....
I got alil impatient my very first casting session.
I hadn't let the CFF go to the ash state before stirring, but rather just after it blacken or coaled, stirred and then skimmed off. I got great boolits, before a few other tempo issues arised.
But upon reading more and seeing it's best to let the CFF or sawdust go to ash, I tried that. I was disappointed as I was getting alot of "dirty" boolits. I had air pockets on the surface and small black spots on as well. Other than letting the CFF ash before stirring and skimming, (I added another layer on top and let sit while casting). the only thing different was lowering the alloy temp some.
I'm still learning alot about casting, as I'm still green as can be. So I'm asking, are those inclusions caused by my fluxing method, or is there something else going on I don't know as of yet? It doesn't seem to matter whether I bottom pour or ladle pour.
As for the method whether coal or ash state, I would force as much as I could into the melt with a slotted spoon a few times, then stir with a 1/2" hardwood dowel until it would smoke, the let set a minute or 2 before skimming.
Only thing I can think of is the ash is remaining suspended and not floating to the surface?????

[gray wolf]

Back to the walnut thing.
When I ran trap line I would boil my traps in walnut shells. The water would get black and the traps would come out looking like they were Parkerized. Strong stuff that walnut.
Anyway I don't get to fancy with the saw dust, I like pine for the resin ( Rosen ) content.
1/2 inch on top of the bottom pour pot -- let it char nice and black and stir it in with a paint mixing stick. For me it seems that if the saw dust turns to ash before it is stirred in it doesn't work as good as when it is just a little blackened.

Sam

[geargnasher]

Yes, Sam, you want to stir in the sawdust while it is still reacting, not after it has turne to inert ash. No real benifit to letting it burn down completely, I like to skim it out after the oxides are all reduced and keep the ash from forming.


Gear

[ghh3rd]

Those maple shavings from the baseball bat lathe at Disney that I begged for while I was there are working well.

I found that I must let them absolutely dry out and char a little before pushing them under the lead -- although they look dry, they still have moisture and my spoon starts rumbling.

save the clipped heads off my maduro cigars

I've done that too!