Fluxing?

[jednorris]

Fortunately, I am a Beekeeper with access to some Bees Wax. As such I am always asked if scented/colored candle wax/paraffin is as good as real Bee wax. My Bee wax is valuable, but I have been given a whole bunch of other that I would be more than willing to give to my buddies. Would I be doing them any favors?

[bubbau]

I'd say yes you would be doing them a favor.

[Sasquatch-1]

Old candles work well for me. I even use old motor oil when doing big batches outside. Save the bee's wax for good quality lubes.

[crandall crank]

I agree with Sasquatch... I use paraffin for fluxing and save my beeswax for other uses, such as mixing with olive oil for a blackpowder patch lube.

[Loudenboomer]

I work the blend with a 3/4 inch Dried oak stick. Seems to release enough carbon that only a small amount of paraffin is required to complete the flux.

[country gent]

I flux with beeswax or paraffin and sawdust. this works well for me.
As important as the flux is how you mix the pot when fluxing. just stirring isnt the best, You want to make sure and scrape the sides and bottom of the pot while bring the mix up thru the flux and the flux down thru the mix. A wood paint stir stick works well for this. Also casting at the lower temps of possible slows the oxidation and need to flux

[MrWolf]

I flux with beeswax or paraffin and sawdust. this works well for me.
As important as the flux is how you mix the pot when fluxing. just stirring isnt the best, You want to make sure and scrape the sides and bottom of the pot while bring the mix up thru the flux and the flux down thru the mix. A wood paint stir stick works well for this. Also casting at the lower temps of possible slows the oxidation and need to flux

This. I get the paint stirrers from big orange or blue. They work just fine and the price is right...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Fortunately, I am a Beekeeper with access to some Bees Wax. As such I am always asked if scented/colored candle wax/paraffin is as good as real Bee wax. My Bee wax is valuable, but I have been given a whole bunch of other that I would be more than willing to give to my buddies. Would I be doing them any favors?

Most of the ladle pouring guys prefer beeswax for fluxing while casting...so a fella could surmise that beeswax is better. I don't cast with a Ladle, and only flux while schmelting, and SawDust and junk candle wax does an awesome job of removing every bit of alloy from the clips of WW and pulling all the alloy out of the dross of range scrap, so there is no need for anything better.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve always used beeswax. The flash point is higher than paraffin. It may not make a difference in fluxing, but it seems logical that a higher flash point would be better for boolit lube. Unfortunately, the price of beeswax has really been going up.

[waksupi]

Stirring with a stick works a lot better. There is no way the specific gravity of lead is going to allow anything light to be effectively stirred in.

[kevin c]

I somehow got the idea that wood char (carbon?) was for removing impurities that can be anywhere in the melt (so mixing the sawdust or submerging a wood scraper into the melt is helpful), but that, since oxides float, anything used mainly as a reductant could stay on the surface?

[Land Owner]

I have successfully used candle wax, kid's crayons, and sawdust, stirred with a long handled, perforated, metal spoon to a very good end of well fluxed alloy and cannot think of using the more expensive, and more difficult to obtain bees wax in that regard...ymmv.

My fluxed alloy boolits hit just as hard, are just as accurate, fill out molds just as well, and ordinarily, I would not make any such comparisons, except to SAVE MONEY. I get my flux for free...

[pworley1]

I have found that almost anything that is combustible, but not highly flammable will work. Nothing smells as good as beeswax.

[waco]

Wax is more of a reducer, not a flux. use sawdust.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_4_Fluxing.htm

[Larry Gibson]

Wax is more of a reducer, not a flux. use sawdust.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_4_Fluxing.htm

From the above site;

"Various waxes have also been used to clean bullet metal. Most commonly these have been paraffin, beeswax, various forms of tallow, or even lard. These have the advantage of being cheap, universally available, and working reasonably well (depending on the alloy). These materials are very good at satisfying two out of the three selection criteria for bullet metal flux in that they are excellent reductants and can reduce any oxidized tin present, and they can be used in sufficient quantity to form an excellent barrier layer, thereby preventing any subsequent oxidation of the alloy."

I've been using beeswax on alloys from scrap range, COWWs to linotype and when mixing my own alloys for many years. Beeswax work fine.