cleaning lead

[walker77]

What do you guys do to clean your lead up? I bought this stuff on ebay to flux with.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Buck-Beaver-Lead-Reloader-Flux-Bullets-Reload-Casting-/230296468982?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item359ebd3df6

And i am still getting black chunks in my bullets. Its not a big deal, they will still work, But my last few pots i havent had as much as big of a problem getting it cleaned up. I leave the lead in the pot when im done too, but i dont think that is the problem. Any thoughts?

[steg]

After a good fluxing, stirring while fluxing, all the contaniments should be on the surface and be easy to remove. Remember the flux that you use is just going to waste if your not stirring the pot while it's active, even if it is on flame.................steg

[randyrat]

It could be in your final casting pot. Clean with a little flux (whatever you use). Scrap with a DRY wooden stick, scrape the sides and bottom. You won't believe how much crud you'll clean out.
I clean/scrape my bottom pure pot each time i use it now, it never plugs on me anymore and no boolit inclusions.

[Bret4207]

All you need for flux is the dry stick mentioned above, scrape and stir, scrape and stir.

[walker77]

What type of stick? Like a paint stick?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

I use paraffin to flux, I skim with a small hole skimmer and then a spoon to take out what It doesn't get. The spooned out stuff goes into a separate can to be added back into the next batch. Seems to get it almost all out.

Sam :D

[fredj338]

I find a wood paint stick & a bit of sawdust works great. I flux like that making ingots & then again just prior to casting. I never get any crud in my bullet from my cheap Lee BP pots.

[geargnasher]

I use hard maple "ricks" which are about 3/4" square strips trimmed from the edge of rough-edged lumber from a friend's cabinet shop. The maple makes fine, clean, carbon as it chars, has sharp edges for scraping the sides of the pot, and doesn't hold as much moisture as more porous woods do.

Gear

[qajaq59]

I bought a chunk of hardwood trim and cut it into 12 inch pieces. It lasts a long time and works well.

[jimone]

I use dry oak leaves and stir/ scrape with a stainless spoon.

[dudel]

What type of stick? Like a paint stick?

I've found paint sticks to work great. When the bottom gets rounded, it works great to scrape the inside of the pot up/down as well.

[walker77]

I just tried a paint stick and it seemed to work real well. Now im gona have to find a new no no stick for our little girl. The terrible twos have come a little early!

[Bret4207]

Heh, heh. Got a year old grand daughter that's already a handful! Terrible two's should be fun.

Any carbon you get in the mix, whether it's boughten magic goop or charcoal off a stick of the side of the road is what does the fluxing. Agitating the mix and scraping the pot frees the garbage and gets the rust and stuff off the sides and bottom.

[trapper9260]

I use corn cobs that I had a farmer grind for me .I use some to clean my brass.It clean the lead good and it seem to draw the dirt out .But you need to let the cobs burn before you mix to get the dirt out. I never have anything mix in with my bullets that I cast it is clean lead alloy. And what I skim out with a spoon .I put it in a different container that I put all my skimming in and melt it all down to get as much of the lead I can. Then i test that alloy to see what the BHN is then go from there.

[GabbyM]

Corn oil from the kitchen works great. Neighbors will think you're grilling out.
Sticks come form the back yard.
Others say pine bows work well but we've no pine trees close by. All that sap should do something.

[imashooter2]

What type of stick? Like a paint stick?

Ask at the counter for the large sticks the pros use to stir the 5 gallon buckets. Still free and they last a lot longer that the small one gallon sticks.