okay to light pine sawdust on fire in my lee 10lb pot?

[guy_with_boolits]

so when I put my smelted relatively clean ingots from my big smelter into my little lee 10lb bottom pour, I want to flux it with pine saw dust that stays on top to prevent oxidizing right?

thing is it needs to be burnt to charcoal to actually do its job...so am I going to make sure it ignites somehow? my poor little lee

[Conditor22]

I light/burn both the pine sawdust AND wax.
I use a small potato matched to get the flux to the bottom of the pot then use a wire whisk to completely mix it in.

I end up with this that prevents oxidation and splashes when I return my sprues

https://i.imgur.com/iVILHTi.jpg

[guy_with_boolits]

I light/burn both the pine sawdust AND wax.
I use a small potato matched to get the flux to the bottom of the pot then use a wire whisk to completely mix it in.

I end up with this that prevents oxidation and splashes when I return my sprues

https://i.imgur.com/iVILHTi.jpg

does the pine dust usually ignite on its own? what temperature do you usually have the pot set to when that happens?

[TjB101]

I tend to use a small pea sized piece of wax in my 10 pound pot ... saw dust and wax for processing the raw lead / range scrap in the big cooker.

[bangerjim]

I do not lite the smoke from my pine dust (or dry leaves or twigs or....whatever!) I use. If it does, I just let it burn. After the dust is converted to carbon, I add a pea-sized hunk of bee's wax to reduce the Sn/Sb back in. Gives a nice shiny surface! I just let the pine dust do it's thing and turn to carbon, stirring every so often to get the batch fluxed.

My pot temp is whatever the alloy needs to become fluid....usually a 6½ dial setting on the little Lee pot. I do not use controllers on any of my several pots, even though I sell them thru the engineering firm I own.

banger

[onelight]

Lighting the smoke greatly reduces the amount of smoke and gas leaving the pot Some of which can be toxic after fluxing . As far as I know it does not affect any thing but smoke and gas.

[rking22]

Same thing I do, just light the smoke with an open flame.

[gwpercle]

Add just a little beeswax to the sawdust as it is charing , it helps get a more complete flux .
The smoke is ignited by the match ...it doesn't burn long ... if your flux produces a LOT of smoke and flame ...you putting in too much . For a 10# pot a teaspoon or two of sawdust and a green pea sized lump of wax ...stir well and if needed do it again ... two small fluxes is easier than one big one that erupts into a ball of flame and burns your eyebrows off and fills the room with smoke !
Be careful .
A commercial flux called Marvelux is not the horrendous stuff most will tell you it is ...it doesn't burst into flame and it doesn't smoke but those of us who use it have been labeled Heretics who are in league with the devil and should be burned at the stake .
Be Careful ,
Gary

[GregLaROCHE]

I agree with bangerjim. I don’t light the smoke from fluxing and I often use “whatever”. I’ve been known to use Quaker Oats. As long as it’s organic, you’ll get the carbon needed to do the job.

[peachhead]

I've done it both ways with paraffin and sawdust. Either works. I was taught to use paraffin and light it up.

[bangerjim]

I've done it both ways with paraffin and sawdust. Either works. I was taught to use paraffin and light it up.

Wax is not a flux! It is a reducer. Fluxing it totally different that reducing. You flux with a carbon-based material to relieve the melt from it's bad stuff and contaminants. You reduce the melt with beeswax (or other waxes if you cannot afford beeswax) to REDUCE the Sn and Sb back into the melt so you will not skim it off and throw it away with the garbage created by fluxing.


Just simple chemistry and metallurgy.


banger

[Conditor22]

I have used both bees wax and candle wax and haven't noticed any significant difference in smelting. I just turn the fan up on my vent fans and move on.

I have found that I must use both pine sawdust and wax to get the results I want.

[guy_with_boolits]

Wax is not a flux! It is a reducer. Fluxing it totally different that reducing. You flux with a carbon-based material to relieve the melt from it's bad stuff and contaminants. You reduce the melt with beeswax (or other waxes if you cannot afford beeswax) to REDUCE the Sn and Sb back into the melt so you will not skim it off and throw it away with the garbage created by fluxing.


Just simple chemistry and metallurgy.


banger

isnt there one more category of function, which is an insulating layer between the liquid metal and the air? i.e. layer of soot on top?

[Hossfly]

To answer your question about temperature. Pine at the right conditions will light off at around 400’ f. Sometimes you have to help it a little.

[guy_with_boolits]

To answer your question about temperature. Pine at the right conditions will light off at around 400’ f. Sometimes you have to help it a little.

Good to know. I will be sawing up a pine board I have to make some dust. 45 acp mold should be here in a couple hours!!

[osteodoc08]

I only use beeswax in my CASTING pot. Chased down a few inclusions for a while and after cleaning the pot, only used beeswax and those went away.

I use whatever in the MELTING pot. Wax and shavings or whatever is handy

[bangerjim]

isnt there one more category of function, which is an insulating layer between the liquid metal and the air? i.e. layer of soot on top?

A layer of carbon ash on the surface will help shield the raw surface from some oxidation, but not completely. That is why I use beeswax as a reducer for Sn/Sb. I sometimes have a thin layer of carbon on top of my bottom pours, but not as a rule. And at least every 20# I add that little pea-sized ball of beeswax. Works great and smells delicious! Beautiful shiny mirror surface.

It is OK to flux and reduce at the same time, but I prefer to flux 3X with pine sawdust (or whatever), clean the surface, and then hit it with the reducer.

This is not rocket science.................it's just melting lead and making boolits. So don't get list in the weeds. Just have fun!

banger

[gwpercle]

Good to know. I will be sawing up a pine board I have to make some dust. 45 acp mold should be here in a couple hours!!

If you have access to a pencil sharpener , old school wood pencils are cedar and the shavings out of a pencil sharpener work great , smell good and there's a tad of graphite in there that helps .
I can't get saw dust so I use pencil sharpener shavings ...beats just throwing them in trash can .
Add a pea size lump of wax ...perfect flux...the shavings burn up quickly because they are so thin .
Gary

[waksupi]

Just stir the pot with a dry stick. Nothing you put on top of the melt will get down into the lead, due to specific gravity. A handful of kitty litter on top of the melt helps keep consistent temperature.

[dondiego]

I have a whole bunch of the old paper match books. One or two matches thrown in with the wax or sawdust and it immediately lights and there is minimal smoke.

[guy_with_boolits]

I have a whole bunch of the old paper match books. One or two matches thrown in with the wax or sawdust and it immediately lights and there is minimal smoke.

ooh nice technique