FISH4BUGS
01-17-2017, 11:25 AM
Years ago I bought probably 300 lbs of clean linotype in letters and spacers form. They have been stored in tight 5 gallon buckets with tight snap on lids out in the barn.
I just now have just started to dig into my stash. (I'm leaving the 25 lb linotype pigs alone until the apocalypse :smile:)
I am doing the smelting in my Lee 20 lb pot. Seems to work just fine so far. However, there is an interesting dross that comes to the surface as the letters and spacers melt.
I have stirred, fluxed, and stirred and fluxed again. I have run it as hot as I can and stirred and stirred and fluxed and fluxed again using candle wax.
What is this stuff? If it is valuable to the alloy, I want to know how to get it into the alloy, or save it and use it in some other way. If it is just gunk, I have no problem skimming it off and recycling it someday.
Thoughts?
I just now have just started to dig into my stash. (I'm leaving the 25 lb linotype pigs alone until the apocalypse :smile:)
I am doing the smelting in my Lee 20 lb pot. Seems to work just fine so far. However, there is an interesting dross that comes to the surface as the letters and spacers melt.
I have stirred, fluxed, and stirred and fluxed again. I have run it as hot as I can and stirred and stirred and fluxed and fluxed again using candle wax.
What is this stuff? If it is valuable to the alloy, I want to know how to get it into the alloy, or save it and use it in some other way. If it is just gunk, I have no problem skimming it off and recycling it someday.
Thoughts?