First time using sawdust

[aspangler]

I tried sawdust today as a flux when I smelted some WW. Worked good but it tended to go to the bottom of the pot. It did what I wanted it to do and get the metals back in the mix but it was a little dirty when I got to the bottom of the pot. Bottom line, it works and is cheap. I cast 55 ingots of pure and 46 of WW for about a total of 100 lbs today. Not bad for a morning.

[shadowcaster]

I really like using sawdust, it does it's job well. I too used to find the pot to be a bit dirty at the bottom until I started doing my final scrape and stir with a steel spoon with a flattened tip. It brings all of the fine dirt and crud up from under the melt and off the bottom and sides. Makes for cleaner ingots which = cleaner boolits.

Shad

[waksupi]

Yep. Need to stir more. Your alloy is being cleaned. Sawdust is not sinking. Specific gravities, you know?

[Wilkie]

I like to light the smoke on fire from the sawdust......best flux on the planet. Smells better than the other fluxes do as well!

[Marcduper]

Hey guys,

Has anyone tried finely shreaded office type paper as a flux?

[lwknight]

Paper will have a lot of clay in it and none of the good stuff in saw dust that the guys like.
For example: Resin.

[Boyscout]

I tried shredded paper one time and it didn't seem to work nearly as well as pine sawdust.

[**oneshot**]

I put enough sawdust to cover the top of the pot. Let it start to smoke a bit then light it then let it burn itself out. I then use a soup laddle to scoop and pour. Scrape the sides and bottom with a metal spoon, skim the top, start pouring or casting.

[Defcon-One]

I stir it while it is burning and after. It gives me the cleanest metal that I can get. I can really see the difference.

Best day of my smelting life was a few years back when I dumped the parrafin wax and started using Pine Sawdust that I had from woodworking projects as my fluxing agent. Free and easy to replace without going anywhere, smells good and it works really well.

[ballistim]

One of the first things I discovered on this forum was the use of sawdust as a "flux", and wish I'd known years ago. I first used it to smelt scrap into ingots and noticed how well it worked. I definitely noticed that I lost less tin and antimony by the hardness of the ingots compared to what was cast using oil & wax, and also noticed less heavy material in the dross left over from the top of the melted alloy. I use wood shavings from my table saw that are mostly pine, and stir with a wooden stick and this will be my way of fluxing from now on. I also noticed how well it works in the pot when casting boolits and keep the layer on top as others have mentioned. I am sold!

[Browningshooter]

Sawdust is the best in my opinion. Just have to stir and scrape a little more.
- will

[1bilmr59]

What is best my planer or table saw. The saw is fine the planer is larger.

[nvbirdman]

A guy near me was cutting firewood for commercial sales and had a pile of sawdust so I took a coffee can there and asked if I could fill it up. I think I have a lifetime supply.

[retread]

I use planer shavings because I can isolate them easily. The saw dust from my table saw is always of mixed of things, including particles board and other nasty stuff. I have the same question as 1bilmir59, should I make the effort to collect good sawdust or are my planer shavings equally up to the task?

[DBH45]

I would like to obtain some Pine sawdust but there are no Lumber Mills in my Town or cabinet shops listed. Any idea where I can obtain some?
Thanks

[303Guy]

How well wood do pine chips/pieces work? What about stirring with a piece of pine? I tried pine sawdust not too long ago for the first time and not only is it a reducing agent, it is a flux. Wax and oil are not fluxes, they are reducing agents and it seems one needs a flux. The difference in yield was quite remarkable.

[Sensai]

I use planer shavings because I can isolate them easily. The saw dust from my table saw is always of mixed of things, including particles board and other nasty stuff. I have the same question as 1bilmir59, should I make the effort to collect good sawdust or are my planer shavings equally up to the task?

I have sawdust, planer shavings and lathe shavings available. I have not noticed a big difference in the three as far as fluxing goes. I mostly use the stuff from the lathe because I love turning perfectly good wood into funny looking round things. Theoretically that shouldn't be as good as the sawdust because of surface area and the fact that it's hardwood rather than pine, but I can't tell the difference except for smell. They all three work much better than anything else I've tried.

[NewbieDave007]

I would like to obtain some Pine sawdust but there are no Lumber Mills in my Town or cabinet shops listed. Any idea where I can obtain some?
Thanks

Go to something like a Wal-Mart, go to the pet section and buy the pine bedding. Somewhere around $3-4 for more than you will need for a while.

[imashooter2]

I like chain saw chips the best.

[Love Life]

I have a friend who cuts firewood for money. I have him save me the saw dust and chips. 100% good pine.