Fluxing With Sawdust

[bangerjim]

Yes, if you have a thickness planer or jointer, you have a lifetime supply of wood flakes that replenishes very rapidly! My double bag dust collector fills up rather rapidly every time I thickness stock or run stock thru the jointer! Wife uses it for plant stuff (except the walnut!). If you do not own one, find a buddy that does.

[borg]

I found out a while back that cedar or juniper fronds make good flux.

I pick out the grey, dead, DRY and crush them up, and pick out the stems and leave I guess what you'd call leaves.
If you have or get cedar fever, don't use this.
Be carefull, smells good, but it IS lead.

[NavyVet1959]

More often than not, when I'm smelting, I'm fluxing with sawdust. I have a 5g bucket in the garage that I dump the dust collection bag from my miter saw. One the bucket gets full, the rest ends up either in the trash or mixed with dirt in the yard. When I change the oil in my car, I often put the oil filter in it after the oil has drained for awhile in the oil collection pan, so there's a little bit of used motor oil with that flux, but not much. If I'm fluxing outside, I sometimes use used motor oil. It has the advantage of adding quite a bit of BTUs into the process. I only do that at night though so that none of the neighbors notice the black smoke and call the fire department.

[cbrick]

From "Ingot to Target" by Glen Fryxell. Chapter 4.

Aside from smoking like a chimney and stinking to high heaven, used motor oil also has the disadvantage of being a
source for contaminating metals (ferrous alloys, aluminum alloys, bearing metal alloys, even magnesium depending on what motor it came out of).

Perhaps not the best choice.

Rick

[NavyVet1959]

From "Ingot to Target" by Glen Fryxell. Chapter 4.

Aside from smoking like a chimney and stinking to high heaven, used motor oil also has the disadvantage of being a
source for contaminating metals (ferrous alloys, aluminum alloys, bearing metal alloys, even magnesium depending on what motor it came out of).

Perhaps not the best choice.

Perhaps, but I've never noticed any problems that I could blame on it. I doubt that the contaminating metals are in a large enough quantity to affect anything.

[olafhardt]

I skipped most of this. A pound of sugar will Flux lots of alloy so will corn meal. You really should use grits when making Mini balls to shoot Yankees with. Chicken scratch feed works but the last batch I used popped like corn.

[btroj]

Sugar? That is a sweet idea!

It will work about the same as a wax

[NavyVet1959]

Sugar? That is a sweet idea!

It will work about the same as a wax

http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/How...ng%20alloy.pdf

[Houndog]

Does your local High School have a woodshop class? Mine does, and the Teacher is glad to give all the sawdust and shavings I want. He even has the kids sweep it up, bag it, and carry it to my Pickup.

[LeRoy.Beans]

I have used sawdust but I don't anymore. I found that it could pick up some moisture and when I stir it to the bottom of the pot, that moisture becomes steam and you know what happens next. No sawdust for me.

[cbrick]

Why would you try to get it to the bottom of the pot? Have you read this thread? You should never try to get it below the surface of the melt. Try reading posts 11 & 34.

Rick

[cajun shooter]

That is why sawdust is THE safe and recommended form of fluxing material. Hunks and chunks of wood can and will soak up airborne humidity/mositure and if pushed below the surface, will cause violent releases of steam and a potential molten lead shower on you! Every time I have used a "DRY" stick to stir with, the violent boiling action gave me pause!

I will stick with wood sawdust and a metal stirring tool!

Also, some individuals are highly allergic to certain cedar oils and the smoke from the burning wood can cause respiratory distress. So be careful.

banger

Bangerjim, When I said shavings, I did not say anything about chunks and hunks of wood. You are reading what you want into my posting and not what was posted. I've been casting since 1970 and that was the first and only time I had that happen. You were not a member when this wood flux was sold and have no idea of how it looked. A shaving could be .002 in size, that is certainly not a hunk or chunk as you say.
As far as the type of wood it was, I said a type of cedar, it was from local trees and not treated with any chemicals. We have many members who used this product, and I don't think anyone went to the hospital.
Unless you live in Louisiana you have no idea of what can and does happen here in just a few hours with moisture. If I had a bucket of sawdust, it would of also had water vapor in it.
Now if I could just find that 2x4 that I was using as a flux stick and I hope that because it's treated I won't have any problems. Unreal assumptions that people have. Later David

[LeRoy.Beans]

Why would you try to get it to the bottom of the pot? Have you read this thread? You should never try to get it below the surface of the melt. Try reading posts 11 & 34.

Rick

yeah, I read'em. I dont' agree with them either.

There are a lot of other things to use as flux that are cheap, available, work as well (or better), and are SAFER.

[btroj]

Moisture isn't really an issue. I put the stuff on the surface of the melt and let it sit for a bit. Is gives plenty of time to drive off all moisture. After that you can pour molten lead thu it, stir, or do whatever it is you do.
Dumping it on the surface and instantly pushing it under the surface is a procedural problem, not a material problem.

[cbrick]

yeah, I read'em. I dont' agree with them either.

There are a lot of other things to use as flux that are cheap, available, work as well (or better), and are SAFER.

Well Leroy, the simple truth is that there are people willing to learn and expand their knowledge and there are people with closed minds.

Rick

[John Boy]

You want free sawdust? Look in the yellow pages for cabinet makers, lumber mill or mill works. Bring your own 50 gallon drum though!

[LeRoy.Beans]

Well Leroy, the simple truth is that there are people willing to learn and expand their knowledge and there are people with closed minds.

Rick

I'm sorry to hear you are one of those with a closed mind. But carry on. In the end, all that matters to me is SAFELY producing the best quality bullets. I have accomplished that.

[NavyVet1959]

If you are using sawdust and you try to push it below the surface, you can tell if there is any moisture in it since you can hear the bubbling / outgassing. Same with using a wooden stir stick. If that happens, then stop pushing it below the surface! Let it sit for a short time and it will dry up and you can push to your heart's content after that.

Hmm... I wonder how well cypress wood would work for fluxing... The sap on it can definitely be messy (compared to some other trees at least).

After Hurricane Ike, there were a LOT of cedar fences blown down around here. Of course, the rails and posts are pressure treated and should not be burnt, but the pickets were just plain cedar. I suspect that I have enough stir sticks and flux to last a few lifetimes from the remains of the fencing that I lost even after all the wooden boxes and such that I've made for storing nails, screws, bolts, and stuff in my garage.

[LeRoy.Beans]

If you are using sawdust and you try to push it below the surface, you can tell if there is any moisture in it since you can hear the bubbling / outgassing. Same with using a wooden stir stick. If that happens, then stop pushing it below the surface! Let it sit for a short time and it will dry up and you can push to your heart's content after that.

Yup.

But why wait? Just use something better. About a billion things out there that work super well and don't have the issues that sawdust or wood does.

[mold maker]

Let the sawdust/shavings sit on top your melt, until they are fully charred/burned. Thats when it becomes flux. It's the carbon that does the job. Then stir and lift the melt and pour it through the carbon remains of the sawdust.
Stirring with a DRY wooden stick is OK if you keep it OFF the bottom and sides of the pot. Then scrape the pot insides with your metal spatula/spoon or what ever. That brings any crud being held there, to the surface, where you spoon it off as dross.
If properly done, the contaminates have been removed and all the oxides are back in the melt leaving a shiny surface. To keep more oxides from forming (in a bottom pour pot) add another fresh spoon full of sawdust. Let it sit as an insulation and barrier to the O2 that forms oxides.
I never stir anything into your melt until it's totally charred/melted.
Never put a cold metal or wooden tool under the melt without giving it a chance to heat/dry.
Just think, and use common sense, to totally avoid an experience with the famous fairy.