Flux

[Hiwall55]

I use marvelous and beeswax,any other suggestions.

[Bent Ramrod]

Sawdust or sander dust, if you do any woodworking, works pretty good. The resin in the wood does the fluxing (I think) and when it carbonized, it protects the surface from further oxidation. You can leave it on top, if you have a bottom pour pot, or are good at brushing the surface out of the way before filling the ladle.

Plus it costs nothing.

I use Marvelux for range scrap and other extremely dirty lead. It’s kind of messy and sloppy for routine use, but it does work very well.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use saw dust in the Lee furnace.

I use saw dust, candle wax and/or drain oil while smelting.

If you search "Marvelux" in the google custom search, you find many threads, the the consensus is, most of us don't use Marvelux and don't like it.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?277108-marvelux!

[skeet1]

Saw dust smells good too!

[John Boy]

Pick one ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_%28metallurgy%29

[hunter74]

Sawdust. Works great and it's free! Hard to beat that

Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk

[largom]

Saw dust, pine resin, shavings from wood planer.

[Hiwall55]

Thanks guys. I was out of Marbelux and I won't be getting anymore.
Thanks Bill

[country gent]

In my big dipper pot ( 100+ lbs) I use wood chips or sawdust and paraffin wax. On the bottom pours I use wax beeswax or paraffin. It dosnt take a lot. Even a small ball of bullet lube ( about the size of a pea) works well. Just as important as the flux is the stirring scrapping motions used. You want to scrape the sides and bottom to loosen any crud. and work the alloy up thru the flux and the flux down thru the alloy mixing the 2 completely until the flux is gone or burned off. Waxes and bullet lubes may ignite into flames and wood smokes a lot. Using wood chips or sawdust let it set on the top of the melt for a few minutes to dry out any moisture before mixing.

[Grmps]

+1 on pine sawdust, the resins make the difference.

If you can't find any (look for mills, cabinet shops, pallet shops,? that process pine), you could buy or get a damaged piece of pine from a big box store or lumberyard for penies and create your own sawdust if you have a chop saw, table saw or ?
Sawdust from Home Depot/Lowes/store that cuts wood for customers will work in a pinch but that stuff will/may have some glue from plywood, wafer board or particle board

Cover the lead with sawdust, wait for it to char then light it and wait till it's all burned ---- wash rinse and repeat

[vzerone]

I had mentioned in another post somewhere combination of saw dust, preferably pine, and wax, any kind of wax.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Candle wax, bee wax, sawdust, chain saw chips dried for a year then run thru an old food processor, sander wood dust, old bullet lube. Do all stirring with a wood branch or some other dry piece without pine pitch or paint sticks. Marvelux is good for one thing in my estimation, not having any!Robert

[Moonie]

sawdust and a wooden paint stick. Best/cheapest flux there is.

[Wayne Smith]

As I understand it flux cleans the melt, that is the role of the carbon in the sawdust. Wax reduces the oxidized tin back into the melt. Two different jobs for two different purposes.

BTW, oil and the **** on ww's also does a pretty good job of fluxing the melt.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Wayne Smith. That junk on a WW that you mention, is that a Toyota?Robert

[lightman]

I use pine sawdust followed by wax when I'm smelting. I use wax or bullet lube when casting. I've used a few different kinds of sawdust and the pine seems to work better. I bought one can of Marvelux years ago and never used all of it. One can of that stuff was enough! And yes, the paint and grease on wheelweights does contribute to fluxing. I wonder if the glue and tape on stick-on weights contributes anything worthwhile?

[D Crockett]

here is a list things I have used in the past pine pitch, candle wax, bees wax , oak leaves, paint stir stick, Marvelux, saw dust, what I am using that works well is a mixture of bees wax candle wax and pine saw dust been using that for a few years now and when I can find it I add pine pitch to the mix and remelt it and blend it all into one block D Crockett

[Wayne Smith]

Wayne Smith. That junk on a WW that you mention, is that a Toyota?Robert

I'm old. Chevy Vega!

[Mike W1]

When I "smelt" and pour ingots I use stearine which seems to get things pretty clean. Then when I cast nothing goes in the pot but a pinch of beeswax. Since going to that my pot stays clean. PID controls allow better temperature control and I'm able to run the melt a bit lower than I used to do which I believe is beneficial. I don't find it entertaining to spoon **** off the top in a 10# Lee even with the spoon I ground to fit the pot so have never tried sawdust. I might use it in the big smelting pot if I didn't have plenty of stearine but this seems to work for me.

[mtgrs737]

I go to garage sales and pick up huge nasty old candles for almost nothing. The sellers wonder what the heck I want them for and often throw in extras just to get rid of them. I mostly use them for fluxing while smelting.

[Rcmaveric]

I use my discarded tumble media and candle wax. Figured waste not want not and it all turns to carbon... Thought of possible contamination from the media, but it did not affect anything and works like a charm.

[ioon44]

I mostly use pine pet bedding and candle wax for smelting and bee's wax in the casting pot.

[gwpercle]

I use marvelous and beeswax,any other suggestions.

I use those also....along with some cedar wood pencil shavings (from the pencil sharpener) , I find all three do a better job than just one flux product.