Help me with fluxing...

[Vance in Ak]

I'm just getting back into casting.
Just getting into "bullet" casting really. Used to do lots of roundballs for MLs.
I have a good supply of WW alloy that seems to be pretty pure. I've been casting with it as is with pretty fair resulys without fluxing. I stir the pot with cedar sticks & call it good. We used to put in a bit of candle wax with our pure lead for round balls. Do I need to order some good flux to get rid of my few wrinkles? Is there any industrial flux (like soldier flux for plumbing, etc) that works?

[lwknight]

Fluxing is not the problem. Fluxing is just to put the dross and floaty oxides back into the melt. Some say that it helps float out inpurities.
You might have some grease or oil in the molds but, most likely you are not getting the molds hot enough.
Preheating the molds helps a lot and casting really fast will heat them up too.
A sure sign of cold mold is a bright shiny chrome looking boolit and with wrinkles.
Once you get the molds hot enough to make a satin finish and if you still have wrinkles, its an oily contaminate in the mold causing the problem.
Hotter melt temps will get the molds hot faster too. Casting without a thermometer is like driving without a speedometer. It can be done but, without a lot of experience, your just guessing.

[WHITETAIL]

Vance, you have the right idea.
Melt what you have and then skim
all what floats.
Then stir and scrape all sides of the
pot with your stick.
Then put in some wax and stir with
metal long spoon.
Because it will smok then catch fire.
Do not get alarmed.
But what you need to do is get as
mutch junk to float as posible.

[HammerMTB]

RE: fluxing, it doesn't require anything special. I have read in these pages numerous times that sawdust would work. I don't make or get around much sawdust, but my son is a millwright, and sees aplenty. I had him get me a bag- his workplace makes it by the ton, as a byproduct of milling.
so today I smelted some stick-on weights. Always hated the nasty smell of rubber and stickum melting in the pot. got the most of it out, and threw in a small handful of sawdust.
More smoke and smell! but once stirred in, it sure cleaned up the smelt! I made a buncha pretty ingots.
This afternoon I casted a buncha .45 boos. Used just a pinch of sawdust for those in the 20 lb pot. It worked well there too.
So if you have access to sawdust, it works well and is cheap!

[johnlaw484]

I have always used a small piece of beeswax to flux. That always works for me for geeting the trash to the top.

[lwknight]

Beeswax cost more than plain old candle wax. It all works the same. You can get a 4 pound candle ar garage sales for $1.00 and have enough wax to do a couple tons of lead.

Its just me but, I think that any wax works the best. I just don't like the smoke.

[WHITETAIL]

I do both.
First I skim off all the clips and whatever.
Then use the wax.
Stir with a long spoon.
Then whae it all clears up, skim again.
Then the saw dust and stir again.
Then skim and pour.

[blackthorn]

All I use anymore is a very dry stick, after all it is really unprocessed sawdust LOL.

[canyon-ghost]

The stick works, for a secondary flux, you can always pick up emergency household candles at a convenience store, or the candle and incense section at Walmart. Small household candles you can run a knife across and cut just a small section to drop on top of the lead. I stir it in, then when the white smoke rolls up, light it with one of those long tipped fireplace lighters. Handy stuff.

[44wcf]

Buy a box of this, it will last a long long time and it works. Not only the best I ever used but it also keeps the pots clean.
California Flake Flux

[A J]

Jim from S&S Casting told me to flux with bacon grease. Works great! Careful - just a little dab will do ya. Too much smells like a kitchen fire. The correct amount smells like breakfast.

Have a great 2010!

A J