Wood chip size for fluxing?

[DonMountain]

I am going to try using wood chips/sawdust for fluxing during my casting sessions and melting down wheel weights. I have been doing a lot of wood working in the restoration and rebuilding and cabinet work in our 1905 vintage farm house and wonder what size of wood chips or sawdust work out best for fluxing the rendering of wheel weights and boolit casting operations. Off the router table I get some pretty fine sawdust and off the table saw I get some more course saw dust and off the jointer I get some really course/chips of wood. So I have a choice of sizes available. So, what works out best?

[Jack Stanley]

My current supply of pine is from an encounter with a chainsaw . As course as they are they work pretty well .

Jack

[David Bachelder]

I use sawdust from my table saw. I suppose it really doesn't matter though. Sawdust is sawdust and burnt sawdust is carbon. Maybe the chain saw dust would be slower yet do the same job.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I have 2 pails of dry chainsaw chips from trees cut down 2 years back. Being the experimenter that I think I am I tried a twist on the chips. I came across a small food processor at a garage sale for $5. I toss a handful of chips in and surge it for 5 or 6 spurts. I wind up with sawdust to much smaller chips for fluxing.Robert

[Mk42gunner]

Don,

I'm no expert on fluxing with sawdust; but I think the jointer chips will be a little large, unless you are smelting with them.

I have about half a bag of wood pellets that got wet and crumbled into sawdust that I have been using when casting. The fine sawdust works well. Just make sure it is dry before stirring it into the melt.

Robert

[largom]

All should work well. The larger chips may take longer to fully carbonize but that would be a good thing IMO. Stir the alloy good with a wooden stick while the chips/sawdust do their job.

Larry

[DonMountain]

Thanks alot everybody. I will hook up the shop vac to the router table then and collect the smaller wood chips/sawdust to use on my boolits. And turn a nice rod in the lathe to use for a stirring rod for the melt. What types of wood produce the best sawdust? I am doing mostly oak now but I could imagine that the center of pine may have more oils in it if that would help?

[Elkins45]

I'm using pet bedding shavings. They are fairly coarse and they seem to work just fine.

[Jack Stanley]

I'm betting that pine would be way better than cherry or treated wood .

Jack

[Shiloh]

They all smoke, but jointer chips work good. Had a garbage bag full a while back.

Shiloh

[largom]

IMO pine is the better because of the resin, but they all work.

Larry

[captaint]

I would go with (and have gone with) the saw blade chips and the jointer chips. Either one should be great. Not so much the plywood sawdust, due to the glue. enjoy Mike

[H.Callahan]

I'm using pet bedding shavings. They are fairly coarse and they seem to work just fine.

+1 ~$2 for bag at Wally World. Lasts quite a while.

[crappie-hunter]

I set my jointer at somewhere between 1/16 and 1/32 and take a 3/4 cedar board and chip away works good for me and smells good too.

[rintinglen]

I set my jointer at somewhere between 1/16 and 1/32 and take a 3/4 cedar board and chip away works good for me and smells good too.

I admit I reload in large part because of the sense of control it gives me, but this is boldly going where no man has gone before. Deliberately making one's own sawdust--I confess, you have out done me.

[doctorggg]

This newbie has been using pine bedding from Wally World as well. Seems to work well.

[just.don]

I guess I make mine too!

Thin pine shavings from the sawmill down the road and cedar shavings from the pet store, by the bale. Using a coffee mill I grind them down to what ever size I want. Best thing about the coffee mill is that while in there you can add what you want, if you want.
In some respects, it could be as much fun as say, alloying, or looking for that
"MagicLube©".
MagicFlux©, works for any alloy, at any temp, stirs for you. Keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter, tools shine like new, no smoke, wife loves the bouquet so much she invites you to do it in the kitchen!
Think about it guys......

[Hang Fire]

I have heard some casters just use a wood dowel and stir the melt, they claimed it works good as chips.

[MikeS]

If I had the variety of sawdust sizes that you do, I would either try each one separately to see which works best for me, or I would just mix them together and use that as my flux. I had bought a bag of pine hamster bedding, and later bought a box if CFF from PatMarlin (forum member here that sells flux). At first I was using each separately, then I mixed them both together and find they work fine either way.

[Wayne Smith]

Oh Boy, variety! I use sawdust from under the table saw, curls from the hand plane, and when I trim a piece of wood and have a thin strip I use that for stirring. Right now a strip of 4/4 American Persimmon about 1/16" thick is my stirring stick.

When I turn green wood on the lathe those strips are dried before they are used!

Since I ladle pour I also use wax when I just need to reduce the oxidation.