What is in the dross of Linotype letters/spacers/etc.

[FISH4BUGS]

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?

[runfiverun]

sometimes it's antimony.
if it is a dirt fluff it's junk.
if it's a foam like substance it's antimony.
if it's grey and heavy its oxides.
try some fire on the surface.
you'll get dirt and some ink and some spots of lead mixed in the dirt.
that stuff can be mixed back in, but it's a bit of work to process it all out of the dirt.

[KYCaster]

If it has a metallic look to it.....it's metal, valuable metal that you don't want to throw away.

Keep fluxing till all the metallic looking stuff is gone and the only thing left is light, fluffy, powdery gray ash. Yeah, I know...you tried that already....do it again. Keep doing it till there's nothing left but ash. Higher temp might help, but probably not.

I have mixed, literally, tons of type metals into bullet casting alloy. Part of the problem is ink. Part of the problem is dust. Part of the problem may be excess Sb, but all of it can be reduced back into the alloy.

Good luck
Jerry

[FISH4BUGS]

It is definitely metal. Thanks for the info.....I guess I will just be more persistent in my fluxing and mixing. I tried the higher temp but that didn't do it.
Maybe higher temp and more fluxing and stirring.
Jeez..........another winter project.
I'll try to get about 50 lbs into lino ingots. That should hold me for while.
Thanks guys!
D

[runfiverun]

use the fire on top.
that breaks the oxides down and allows them back into the alloy.
you need the oxygen free barrier for that to happen.

[FISH4BUGS]

More fire!
It stinks bad enough already with the candle wax but I am willing to stink up the shed even more!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I'd put a layer of sawdust on the melt, let it burn to ash, then stir as well as use the ladle to pour molten alloy through the ash.