Fluxing with Borax? Inherited a Trash can full.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Howdy all,

I inherited a large Plastic Trashcan full of Borax. I understand that it can be used to flux lead. Can anyone give me the details of how to use it?

Thanks,

Sam :D

[bohokii]

i thought you use borax for brazing steel or forge welding

does lead get hot enough for it to melt/burn

[miestro_jerry]

Yes lead does get hot enough for Borax to flux it. What grade of Borax is this?

Jerry

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Jerry,

Not sure, I know it was bought in the late 80's, Dad put it in the walls of the house to help repel Roaches. It came in 2 Large Gray Trashcans. Label is long gone many years ago. Been sitting sealed in his old shop since.

Sam :D

[smokemjoe]

I used it and it dont work. I put in beeswax with it and lite it, Made awfull smoke and smell,Next door the windows and days slamed shut.

[archmaker]

I remember (I think - starting to get old :) ) that you could use borax, but it would form a "glassy" surface on the surface and help stop oxidaxation, not used as a flux.

But like I said it was something I read about in the 80's.

[scb]

The only thing I've used borax to flux was brass brazing rod. Heat the rod to almost red hot temp and put rod in borax. This is back before coated rod was widely used.

[runfiverun]

borax can be used as a flux it acts just like marvelux.
I ike to use it to make the glass top on the melt, you don't gotta flux in oxides if you don't got any.

[docone31]

I have used Borax as a flux, but, it is not that simply done.
It is an high heat flux. Lead melts at a lessor temp than needed for ideal fluxing. However,
It does act kinda like Kitty Litter does. It clumps the dirt, crud, and allows the oxidation to go back into the melt.
If you got a mess of it, or it is laying around, go ahead and use it. If you have to go out and buy it, skip that step. Kitty Litter does the same thing.
Personally, with lead, I have not needed to flux. It all goes back in one way or another. To keep the surface as a firescale preventer, that is where the Kitty Litter goes. When I cut my sprues, or toss in the rejects while pouring, I put them on the Kitty Litter. Sooner or later, it drips back into the melt in general.
You do need an higher temp to make borax glass like.

[Multigunner]

Jerry,

Not sure, I know it was bought in the late 80's, Dad put it in the walls of the house to help repel Roaches. It came in 2 Large Gray Trashcans. Label is long gone many years ago. Been sitting sealed in his old shop since.

Sam :D

Are you sure its not Boric Acid rather than Borax?
Boric Acid is often placed inside walls to kill roaches, and mixed with jam to kill the queen of an ant colony. The workers carry the boric acid contaminated jam back to the queen ants.

Careful with stuff thats lost its labels.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Could be, I will see if Mom remembers tomorrow, Been out there a long time.

Sam :D

[lwknight]

If I understand it right there are 3 levels of boric acid. All are the root of Borax. I think that Boric acid is what happens when water mixes with borax.

Quote from Wiki: Based on mammalian median lethal dose (LD50) rating of 2,660 mg/kg body mass, boric acid is poisonous if taken internally or inhaled in large quantities. However, it is generally considered to be not much more toxic than table salt.[3]

Anyway , you are going to heat the boric acid hot enough to make borax as I read it.
You can get boron if you mix it with water then boil it off. If heated to high temp in pressurized water you get borated water. Which is poison to a nuclear reactor.

On further reading , I see that borax is a boron-sodium salt.
Its all confusing to me. I would just stick to candlewax from the goodwill 50 cent candles.

[leadman]

I've used boric acid to kill the roaches and to keep them from coming out of the manhole cover at the back of the yard.

[recycledelectrons]

I've got an old bottle of boric acid with a Midway label on it. I'll check later to see if there are directions on the back.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Thanks Andy,

Sam :D

[mold maker]

I tried it once and it made an awful mess in my furnace. The glass like surface was left on the pot walls as the lead level dropped. It was hard and all but impossible to remove. It, like Marvelux, will never find their way to my pot again.
When plain old sawdust works as well as it does, that is all I'll use.

[randyrat]

Also Borax/boric acid will kill anything green like, grass, flowers, weeds, and so on...So be carefull around the yard.
It's a real slow insect killer but it kills good. Insects have no ressistance to Boric acid. Use it real light if you use it against insects. Try not to breath too much of of it, it can cause some temporary(hopefully) breathing problems.
My mother used it( boric acid-from the pharmacy)to rinse our eyes out when we were kids. Go figure.

[MtGun44]

A weak boric acid solution is a good sterile eye wash. Used it for years. You can
cure an eye infection or tear gland infection with a boric acid eye wash several times
a day.

Bill