What do you stir your pot with?

[Fretboard]

When my father used to cast fishing lures down the basement over a gas stove he would stir the pot this a thick graphite rod and then use it to scrape the sludge off to the side.
What is the to tool of choice today, I would like to get started with some of my own casting.

[geargnasher]

Wooden stick. As it chars it reacts with the oxides (reduction/oxidation reaction) and de-oxidizes the oxide scum and will clean the dross goop off the sides of the pot nicely. You don't need anything else. Work the oxide scum into a pile and rub it against the side of the pot with a stick, this will leave shiny alloy and only a pinch of grey ash you can skim out with a spoon.

Normal oxidation will cause the surface scum to reappear in a few minutes, just give it another corral and rub to clean it if it bothers you.

Gear

[Plinkster]

Hammer handle, long and slender enough on one end to stir with but thick enough on the other end to drill and fill with a bit of lead for thumping sprue plates. On the slender end I've drilled to allow for a small dowel to be inserted as a consumable stir stick and has worked well for me.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I gather dead tree limbs from my back wood lot during green leaf weather to determine the dead ones. Since I have had several older white paper birch die off I have been using limbs of about 1/2" dia. for stirring and scraping. They may tend to burn up faster than other types of wood, but I`ve got a goodly bunch to go thru.Robert

[nouseforaname1246]

I use a steel serving spoon with a wooden handle that I got from the thrift store for a quarter. I switched to wooden dowels for about a year, but one too many moist ones made me go back to the 'ol spoon and sawdust. The tinsel fairy is a rather messy guest.

[P.K.]

Run by your local Paint store or Lowes/Home Depot, wooden stir sticks are cheap, uniform and great for other things as well. They tend to char up fairly quick with use so have a few on hand.

[GARD72977]

I bought a bunch of hammer handles for .10 each at a yard sale. Im still using the first one!

[Huntducks]

3/8 wood dowl.

[zuke]

I use a dollar store soup ladle to stir and pour.
I also use one of those soup spoon's with a bunch of hole's to get the WW clip's out.

[jetsfan-24]

i use a board off a wooden pallet

[Hardcast416taylor]

The last supply of paint stirring sticks I got from Home Depot, about a year back, must have been wet wood or had a high sap content. Those sticks would snap and pop and make small lead splatters for the fairy. I quit using those and went back to dead, dry tree limbs.Robert

[280Ackley]

I grab the wood chopsticks at the Chinese place every time I go. Works good for me. Jeff

[EMC45]

Paint stir sticks from Lowe's/Ace.

[imashooter2]

Run by your local Paint store or Lowes/Home Depot, wooden stir sticks are cheap, uniform and great for other things as well. They tend to char up fairly quick with use so have a few on hand.

Ask for the commercial sticks for the 5 gallon buckets. Longer, thicker, better. They keep them behind the counter, but they're still free.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i just use in old spoon

[Spawn-Inc]

dunk your hand in water then stir with it!! the mythbusters did it, so it must be safe!
(i shouldn't have to say this, but alas society wants to keep the Darwin's around, so DON'T do this)

stainless steel spoon is what i use.

[Fretboard]

Thanks for all the replies, I will try a old hickory handle at least my first experience will smell like a outdoor barbeque.

[mtnman31]

I stir the pot with rumors, gossip and allegations...

My lead pot gets stirred with paint stir sticks or occasionally an old spoon.

[bobthenailer]

Ive been using a SS serving spoon for 20+ years.

[skeettx]

Me too Ive been using a SS serving spoon for 20+ years.