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Years ago I bought a can of Marvelux casting flux and of course one move and 10 years later I can't find it.
I'm getting ready to smelt down my last 2 buckets of wheel weights and one forklift ballast plate and I'm wondering if it would be worth it to get more? It seemed to work pretty good the last time I tried it but I can't say how long ago that was...
Tony
All I ever used was Oak & Pine sawdust from my table saw & I never got any inclusions in the pour pot...In the pour pot I just cap off the melt with a generous amount of candle wax.
Did you experience a black gooey mess with the Marvelux?
I just use saw dust. Cedar is my favorite.
I have used sawdust, wood chips and crayons the grandkids receive at the restaurant.
My dad used parifin wax so that’s all I use
Crayons, old boolit lube, paraffin, beeswax - most similar things work well to flux. Personally, I use rosin flakes - smells nice and does a good job.
I have used sawdust and wood splinters - did not get the results I get with Marvelux.Quote:
Originally Posted by OS OK
I get the Black Gooo with Marvelux. I use a lee lead dipper to capture and move all the Gooo to one location on the top of the Lead; capture it with the Lee Lead Dipper, and doo a 180 degree turn of the dipper and submerge the black Goo into the lead. IT WILL BUBBLE AND MAKE NOISE. . I scrape the bottom and side of the pot, capture all of it again with the remaining Goo and Repeat multiple times. This will result in an accumulation of dross - with liquid silver metal inside the dross. I then herd all that trash on top to the side; use the bottom of the Lee Lead Dipper to compress the dross pile and force any liquid silver drops out. Do this several times and what is left looks like brown dust and light brown balls. This all gets skimmed off and thrown into a scrap pile for either trash or into next pot melting wheel weights or scrap lead. I store the post and ensure any top color is mixed in and no more dross comes up.
NOTE: The Black Goo at times will form a black crusty ball sticking to the inside of the Lee Lead Dipper Cup. To get rid of this one has to scrape it out with an old screw driver or similar.
Greetings,
I use Marvelux on occasion. Less odor; but, it tends to get the pot walls a bit crusty.
Beeswax is what I generally use and it tends to keep the sides of the pot cleaner. Sadly, it does smoke up the shop and lots of ventilation is needed.
Cheers,
Dave
All you really need to flux is something carbon based. Sawdust is very popular, but you can use cornflakes if needed. I always flux first with sawdust and then again with beeswax. Paraffin old crayons can be used as well. I’ve heard of people using motor oil.
It is a good commercial flux and I use it in a 3-step flux ... cedar wood pencil shavings (because I get free pencil sharpener shavings) a little bees wax and Marvelux all stirred into the melt with a wood paddle . I find all three work better than just any one .
Do you need to buy Marvelux ... if you have some wood shavings and beeswax or candle wax just use those ... put some wood shavings on the melt then add bees or candle wax to the shavings ... stir well with wooden paddle ... might do it twice but that should get the job done .
Gary
Light the smoke with a matchQuote:
Originally Posted by fc60
When you throw in the beeswax also throw in a match from a book of matches. The smoke ignites and is greatly reduced. Stir well!Quote:
Originally Posted by fc60
Personally I never cared for Marvelux. It can leave a coating of foam like stuff on your tools that absorbs moisture. I use Beeswax in my casting pot and pine sawdust in my smelting pot.
i rotate candle wax, saw dust, and motor oil/ transmission fluid in a single batch. and i get very clean alloy. large cast iron dutch oven give a large surface area to allow the crud to surface with ease.
. Exactly same here.Quote:
Originally Posted by lightman
CW
For the past "I don't know how many" years I have read, and re-read all sorts of BAD things about Brownell's MarVelux. BUT, and this is a big "BUT", it is my regular, go-to, do-it "alloy savior"! I use table-saw sawdust complemented with red Gouda cheese wax to make my (propane-fired, outdoor) first mix, poured into ingots. Then, when I use the electric (RCBS or Lyman) pots to cast bullets, I repeat the sawdust/cheese wax but, to be most honest, I'll still get bullets indicative of needing more fluxing. That's when I throw in a bit of MarVeLux -- stir the "daylights" out of mix -- and pretty much ALWAYS have a great casting alloy as the result. As suggested by Fryxell (sp?) I top it with more sawdust -- primarily to attenuate oxidation.Quote:
Originally Posted by technojock
BUT, I do believe I'd be at a loss sans my can of MarVeLux.
What I have/use.
geo
For smelting I use a combination of pine chips and old candles , first one then the other for 3-4 times to get the crud out. I also use some marvelux if the scrap is really dirty on the first fluxing.
Thanx for all the input. If the Marvelux doesn't turn up I can make some sawdust. I don't do much wood working but I can cut up some wood scrap on my metal cutting band saw. Candle wax is easy to come by around here. I use dollar store candles for lube when drilling aluminum for my business...
While I didn't use the Marvelux very much, I seem to recall it helped get the crud to float to the surface faster but that could be an incorrect recollection...
Tony
Stop by a Big Box Store like Lowe's or Home Depot and they'll give you plenty of sawdust. Just make sure it doesn't have any tiny white flakes in it, indicating that it is from Melamine covered board...that stuff will still work but it stinks.Quote:
Originally Posted by technojock
Wife used to entertain sometimes and always had a couple of nice candles on the dinner table. Candles used that time (once) but then replaced by new candles the next time. I kept putting the used candles in a box in the shop, and that's all the flux I've used for years. Toss a small chunk in the molten metal, stir, ignite the fumes, and jump back! Skim. Does a great job. Will repeat a 2nd or 3rd time if the lead is exceptionally dirty.
DG
A spark lighter works well when you have gloves on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim357
Wayne
When I used to get free wheelweights from my tire dealer, I found that vegetable oil as flux helped the steel clips release from the lead. I had a bottle of oil that had turned rancid, and I used that for a long time. Lately, I had acquired a bottle of castor oil, which I used up smelting range lead; worked just fine.
Wayne
I threw away my Marvelux when I started using crayons. Marvelux made a mess, the crayons work perfectly.
If using sawdust, make sure it is dry before stirring it under. Regards, Woody
Pine shavings and candle wax is all I`ve used for 50+ years.
Flux often to prevent inclusions.
Saw dust mostly pine and wax from toilet ring . Cheap an works great.
Ooooo... used motor oil upwind from my ******* nosey neighbor!
In a recent casting class one guy brought in a bunch of range scrap that included bits of the rubber backstop. My smelting pot was down wind of his pot. What a stinky cloud of smoke.
Casting class in Massachusetts! I am impressed! Good job!Quote:
Originally Posted by Chaparral66
I use Frankfort Arsenal flux. Anybody? Works good. Make foam and is a bit messy, turns black. My alloy I get off eBay and roto is pretty clean usually. I’ve been shopping around and getting a good deal. Thinking though I have to take their word for it. Been pretty blessed by what I get in small quantities. Alloy Clear, oxidizes and flux reduces to clear mirror again. Taking their word too.
I ran a batch using copper sulfate as my flux and stirred with chopsticks, I have yet to test the BHN though for the results.