kens
05-21-2013, 07:37 AM
I tried copper enrichment with Pewter, COWW, and copper.
I melted down a Pewter bowl, then added a bits of copper tubing. In a couple hours the Cu tubing was noticeably dissolving. I let this continue until it turned into a slushy, I assumed I had reached a point that the copper content raised the melt temp, so I cranked up the heat. This helped a little bit and the color sheen on top of the melt was yellowish/orange looking as if it was taking to a bronze condition. Again it went to slushy so I stopped with the copper and tried to flux to no help. I assumed I had an imbalance of metals so I started adding COWW muffin ingots to try to get it to absorb the slushyness. No help. After about 8lbs of COWW still slushy oatmeal on top, I couldn't flux it out. I gave up and let it cool.
I did notice however that that 8lb ingot, as ugly as it was with oatmeal crust on top, 'ringed' when I tossed it on the floor. "Now we have changed' something. I cut it in half on bandsaw and didn't see impurities in the saw cut, just ugly crust on top.
I tried muiriatic acid to check for zinc and nothing happened.
So, I meleted down a half of that ingot and the crust subsided a little but not much,I flux with beeswax, candle, soldering flux and I not making any headway. Then I tried sawdust. I dumped a heaping handful covering up the melt heavily. Stirred and stirred and poured the melt thru the sawdust.
VOILA!!! It was as pretty a melt as I ever seen. Bright chrome looking melt. Now I am absolutely sold on the sawdust flux method. Bar none!!
I grabbed the first mold handy, a LEE .452/255RF and cast a few. Less frosting than many of a COWW melt, and I dropped several into water for quench. Several air dry.
Now the strange part comes. I compared these to regular COWW, which dropped out @ .453". The air cooled Cu/Pewter batch dropped out .455"
The water dropped Cu/pewter dropped out @ .4555 a couple came .456" !!
Fill out was capable since I was ladling with a gravy spoon that I was drossing with on a quick and dirty session. With a better approach to casting these will no doubt fill out nicely, a few boolits I did drop showed the machine tools marks from the mold cavity, nice square grease grooves. And the sprue was cut very cleanly.
JUst the difference in diameter really gets to me, this Cu enrichment deal is like haveing another sizer die in your equipment.
From what I can tell there is more good to Cu enrichment than only the HIGH power rifles, a benefit is you gain .001-.002" in diameter.
I melted down a Pewter bowl, then added a bits of copper tubing. In a couple hours the Cu tubing was noticeably dissolving. I let this continue until it turned into a slushy, I assumed I had reached a point that the copper content raised the melt temp, so I cranked up the heat. This helped a little bit and the color sheen on top of the melt was yellowish/orange looking as if it was taking to a bronze condition. Again it went to slushy so I stopped with the copper and tried to flux to no help. I assumed I had an imbalance of metals so I started adding COWW muffin ingots to try to get it to absorb the slushyness. No help. After about 8lbs of COWW still slushy oatmeal on top, I couldn't flux it out. I gave up and let it cool.
I did notice however that that 8lb ingot, as ugly as it was with oatmeal crust on top, 'ringed' when I tossed it on the floor. "Now we have changed' something. I cut it in half on bandsaw and didn't see impurities in the saw cut, just ugly crust on top.
I tried muiriatic acid to check for zinc and nothing happened.
So, I meleted down a half of that ingot and the crust subsided a little but not much,I flux with beeswax, candle, soldering flux and I not making any headway. Then I tried sawdust. I dumped a heaping handful covering up the melt heavily. Stirred and stirred and poured the melt thru the sawdust.
VOILA!!! It was as pretty a melt as I ever seen. Bright chrome looking melt. Now I am absolutely sold on the sawdust flux method. Bar none!!
I grabbed the first mold handy, a LEE .452/255RF and cast a few. Less frosting than many of a COWW melt, and I dropped several into water for quench. Several air dry.
Now the strange part comes. I compared these to regular COWW, which dropped out @ .453". The air cooled Cu/Pewter batch dropped out .455"
The water dropped Cu/pewter dropped out @ .4555 a couple came .456" !!
Fill out was capable since I was ladling with a gravy spoon that I was drossing with on a quick and dirty session. With a better approach to casting these will no doubt fill out nicely, a few boolits I did drop showed the machine tools marks from the mold cavity, nice square grease grooves. And the sprue was cut very cleanly.
JUst the difference in diameter really gets to me, this Cu enrichment deal is like haveing another sizer die in your equipment.
From what I can tell there is more good to Cu enrichment than only the HIGH power rifles, a benefit is you gain .001-.002" in diameter.