Fluxing with ground walnut media?

[Landshark9025]

Might be a silly question, but recently I bought a 40lb bag of crushed edit corn cob media for approx $20 delivered. Based on my current rate of consumption, this will last a LONG time in my tumbler. Since it is stored in the house in a bedroom closet, it stays quite clean and dry. Rather than go to Home Depot and beg for a 5 gal bucket of sawdust and have to deal with that, could I just use this for flux in my casting pot?

I will be using a Lee Pro Melt 4 and was advised to use either sawdust or kitty litter in a full layer to help block out the O2 and wait until it chars before mixing in. This will be for actual boolit casting and not smelting or alloy mixing.

Thanks

[geargnasher]

Walnut fumes = BAD. Might be a good fumigator, though, if you have a pest problem.

Gear

[jonp]

Why is that Gear?

[Landshark9025]

Crud, my mistake. It is actually corn cob. Same issue with smell?

[David2011]

Landshark,

It's not the odor of walnut, it's the contents of the smoke. Walnut is pretty nasty as a dust or smoke and if you don't have an allergy to it you might develop one. It also has toxins in the smoke.

BTW- would you mind sharing where you got the corn cob for $20 delivered? What size is it?

David

[Landshark9025]

OK, good to know.

As for the corn cob, Zoro tools:
http://www.zorotools.com/g/Blast%20Media/00054305/None
The guys on AR15.com generally recommend the 14/20 as it is small enough not to get caught in flash holes. The use it to remove lube from sized 223, etc.
I went with the 20/40 thinking it would be that much better. I have tried tumbling after decapping and it does make the primer pockets a little cleaner if you leave it tumble long enough. No where near wet tumbling and really not enough to make it worth while, but it does separate well.

Thoughts on using it as flux?


Landshark,

It's not the odor of walnut, it's the contents of the smoke. Walnut is pretty nasty as a dust or smoke and if you don't have an allergy to it you might develop one. It also has toxins in the smoke.

BTW- would you mind sharing where you got the corn cob for $20 delivered? What size is it?

David

[bangerjim]

Just go to WalMArt and get some pet bedding shavings. A bag will last a long time.

Walnut is loaded with tannic acid and is very hard on the respiratory system when cut on a saw, let alone burned in a pot. Walnut bedding will KILL animals!!!!!!!!!

I have never burned corn cobs.......no need to! Just stick with normal stuff....pine, leaves, sticks, etc.

BUT......NEVER use USED tumble media!!!!!!! It contains all the real nasty chemicals from spent powder. primers, and brass. Very NASTY stuff! If you absolutely must use corn cobs due to lack of money, only use new stuff.

Pet bedding is very cheap! Pine is the best for fluxing. Just buy some.

And DO NOT got to Home Depot or Lowe's and beg sawdust. That may/will contain dust from pressure treated lumber, flake-board, particleboard, and God know what else. All are bad....VERY BAD. FREE.........is rarely FREE.

And I NEVER use sawdust in my casting pot. If you flux properly (3x) when you make your ingots you will have guaranteed 100% pure alloy. I only use beeswax in the casting pot to reduce the tin back in. Works great. Sawdust ONLY in the smelting pot for me! Others will argue, but this has worked for me for a LONG gime.

bangerjim

[dbosman]

Cobs have been stove fuel for a very long time.
It might burn off too fast though.
Let us know how it works for you, compared to saw dust.

[Hickory]

The smoke from walnut will mess up your lungs and cause health issues down the road.
Walnuts around horses will kill the horses. A lot of plants will not grow near a walnut tree.

[bangerjim]

Cobs have been stove fuel for a very long time.
It might burn off too fast though.
Let us know how it works for you, compared to saw dust.

Buffalo chips worked for the "soddies" that lived on the praries back in the day!!!!!

Hummmmmmmm........what about all that dog poo in the back yard!!!!!!!!! :bigsmyl2:

banger

[Frank46]

Worked in a LNG plant once. We used to feed a 2 gallon can of ground walnut shells to the 6,000 HP gas turbine to increase the efficiency and you could actually see it on the chart recorder. The whole turbine room used to smell like walnuts when done. Frank

[Landshark9025]

Jim, are making accusations against my lawn care practices?:kidding:

I will likely try the pet bedding first(never occurred to me as guinea pigs and hampsters aren't pets, they are targets), then the corn cob just to see if there is a difference.


Buffalo chips worked for the "soddies" that lived on the praries back in the day!!!!!

Hummmmmmmm........what about all that dog poo in the back yard!!!!!!!!! :bigsmyl2:

banger

[dtknowles]

I have never burned corn cobs.......no need to! Just stick with normal stuff....pine, leaves, sticks, etc.

BUT......NEVER use USED tumble media!!!!!!! It contains all the real nasty chemicals from spent powder. primers, and brass. Very NASTY stuff! If you absolutely must use corn cobs due to lack of money, only use new stuff.

Pet bedding is very cheap! Pine is the best for fluxing. Just buy some.


And I NEVER use sawdust in my casting pot. If you flux properly (3x) when you make your ingots you will have guaranteed 100% pure alloy. I only use beeswax in the casting pot to reduce the tin back in. Works great. Sawdust ONLY in the smelting pot for me! Others will argue, but this has worked for me for a LONG gime.

bangerjim


Bangerjim

Could you be more specific about the very bad stuff in used tumble media. Do you use a mask when separating cases from or handling used media. Is that stuff in the used media worse than the wonderful smell of powder when I fire ammo at the range? As far as sawdust only in the smelting pot, you will get an argument from me, I keep a ash layer on top of my melt in my bottom pour pot and that has worked for me for a long time. I used to use beeswax because that is how I started 35 years ago when I only ladle cast and still do if I ladle cast but on my bottom pour pot I use corn cob or sawdust flux and leave an ash layer. Works great better than wax because I don't have to repeat to reduce the tin back in, it keeps the tin from oxidizing. What works for you is not necessarily best for others. I have to admit sometimes for fun I will drop a piece of wax on the ash layer and stir it into the melt, it might do that after I top up the pot with fresh alloy after I depleted the pot casting bullets. It is probably not necessary nor would fresh fluxing with corn cob or sawdust be since it is clean alloy and I already have an ash layer on the pot but it causes no harm while I wait for the pot to get back to working temperature. The ash layer also forms a thermal barrier (insulation) that helps the pot get to working temperature faster.

Tim

[zidave]

Glad I read this thread.
I've been using my ground walnut tumbling media(not used) to flux my pot.

I've never stuck my nose in it and inhaled but I'm sure I've gotten a little bit of it.

[kawasakifreak77]

Well ****. I have been using my old media (one tumbler just gave out on me) sure is smoky but didn't seem THAT bad.

[Landshark9025]

To be clear, I was thinking of using clean, unused tumbling media- mainly because I am overly paranoid about introducing any impurities. #noob. Never occurred to me to try to recycle the dirty stuff. Once my tumbling media gets ugly (usually after a couple thousand rounds) I toss it.

[Whitespider]

Hmmmm....
I make my flux with a chainsaw and a cheese grater. I go out to the wood pile, grab an oak log, cut the end off it with the chainsaw a few times, rake up the saw chips and shove 'em in a coffee can... a 3# can lasts a long, long time. I also grate up a bar of ivory soap (using a cheese grater) and toss in a pinch with the saw chips... I don't know what it is about the two things together, but it works much better than either the saw chips or soap alone.

I ladle cast only... never had an issue...
*

[Landshark9025]

Interesting, Whitespider. I have a pile of wood from a pine tree that fell down, but even though it laid on the ground a long time(note: BEFORE I moved in. Don't want my landscaping called into question again), it is still pretty "sappy". Not sure if that would be bad, but I wouldn't think it would help.


Hmmmm....
I make my flux with a chainsaw and a cheese grater. I go out to the wood pile, grab an oak log, cut the end off it with the chainsaw a few times, rake up the saw chips and shove 'em in a coffee can... a 3# can lasts a long, long time. I also grate up a bar of ivory soap (using a cheese grater) and toss in a pinch with the saw chips... I don't know what it is about the two things together, but it works much better than either the saw chips or soap alone.

I ladle cast only... never had an issue...
*

[gray wolf]

it is still pretty "sappy". Not sure if that would be bad, but I wouldn't think it would help.
Sappy ?? You wouldn't think it would help ?? Well I do !!
Rosin is a great flux, what do you think is in Pine sap ? ( Rosin )
I can't believe all the shade tree hoopla about a simple procedure like fluxing a pot of metal.
Nothing goes in my pot but clean metal that has been fluxed with Thin PINE shavings from a $6.00 bag of pet bedding that will last me 10 years. The clean metal goes in my clean casting pot, then an inch of sawdust that gets chard and then stirred into the mix and left on top as an O2 barrier.

Sometimes it stays there for multiple pot exchanges of lead or when adding metal.
It just does not hurt anything, you can add a little fresh without taking off the old.
The key is clean metal only in the pot I gave up using the famous Wooden stick to stir the pot.
All it ever did for me was give me dirt in my mix, I only use a SS kitchen spoon.
Dirty tumbling media ?? I used it oncein my young and foolish days and it about put me on the ground with one small breath of it . It has got to be the nastiest junk I ever tried (once ) and never again.
Should I try this ? should I try that ? well I have a lot of this ! how about some of that ?
It's like trying to make a different shape wheel. Well what if we square one side ? or lets put a small flat on it.
It's a dam wheel you ain't gonna make it better.
It's pine shavings it ain't gonna get better.
Rant off, I feel better now