casting flux?

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robert bw

40 Cal.
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heelo forum.have cast hundreds of rb without ever using flux.i use old drill bit to draw off the dross.question is could flux make this easier?am idrawing off a lot of good lead?is there any cheap flux formulas?stuff I might have around the house already?thanks!
 
swamp chicken said:
would,nt that cactch afire?
That's kind of the idea.
Flux is about adding a carbon element to the alloy/lead,, carbon molecules are lighter then the rest of the lead matrix, any impurities attach to the carbon because it's easier then staying in suspension with the lead,, it floats.
Any element that oxidizes/burns at lead melt temps will add the carbon you want,, waxes react quickly and "flame" is a rapid change to carbon.
Any wax will do, old crayons, candle wax, canning wax, Bees wax,,,
Drop a piece about the size of a pea and stir, there will be smoke and sometimes momentary flame,, then skim.
I use a tablespoon tied to a stick to skim/dross my lead.
 
Most of the time I cast out of a small cast iron pot, mostly melt just three or four pounds run off until I get a hundred ball, adding lead chunks as needed, will only flux after I add lead. When at an event will melt about a pound of lead in a ladel and never flux that. I used to have a pot with about 20 pounds in and would cast a couple of hundred ball, went several years with out fluxing as I would just do it when melting a new bunch.
 
Catch afire...???
YUP...and you don't want to be surprised should it happen. "Startled" ain't a good place to be when in close proximity to a pot of molten lead. :nono: :nono: :nono:
 
spot on what i do. Bees wax, stir it in, use a old spoon to skim the top.

Fleener
 
good advise,thanks for the input guys.i cast in a dipper only 2 or 3 ounces at a time sitting on the ground outdoors(cant drop it on the ground if its already there)frankly id be real nervous around a big pot full of lead.
 
When casting from a ladle over coals, I stir the lead with a sliver of wood. Does the trick...
 
I have used beeswax, paraffin, and alox, left over from casting CF bullets. They all work, but beeswax smells the best, LOL. Keep yer powder dry .......robin :wink:
 
My wife has those scenty pots that melt the wax to release the smell but most of the time the smell runs out before the wax is gone. So she pours it in a container and I use that to flux with. So when I'm casting it smells like I'm baking pies or something. Lol
 
I use either candle or bees wax to flux, and an old dessert spoon to scrape off the dross. I flux whenever a build up of oxide on top of the lead occurs and when I first melt the pot and when I add more lead. Fluxing helps the lead run better too.

Cheers

Heeler
 
Plumbers candles or a pea sized bit of beeswax.

I have a garage sale stainless tablespoon with a dozen 1/8" holes drilled in it. Held in a welder's glove I stir up the melt and skim off the dross. Lead does not stick to stainless steel.

I am convinced it does bring out more crud and dross than just melting and skimming.
 
I might add, I also stir and Stumpkiller is dead right, it does bring to the surface plenty more of impurities than just skimming. I attached the old silver plated spoon to a piece of wood to give an extended handle. It does have plenty stick to it unlike the mentioned stainless spoon !!!!!


Cheers

Heeler
 
Have always just used paraffin. It's readily available and cheap and works just fine. I save my beeswax for more important things. Interesting thing when I lived back east and dropped the wax into my pot it would catch fire almost instantly. Here in Wyoming at just a tad under 7000 feet above sea level it will not ignite without a little help. Started cutting the tops off matches out of match books and throwing one in the pot with the wax to get it to ignite. Of course in Florida your good :applause:
 
swamp chicken said:
heelo forum.have cast hundreds of rb without ever using flux.i use old drill bit to draw off the dross.question is could flux make this easier?am idrawing off a lot of good lead?is there any cheap flux formulas?stuff I might have around the house already?thanks!

I use a pea size bit of paraffin wax. Once the lead is melted, I stir in a bit of paraffin. It smokes like a son of a gun but I do my casting in the garage with the door open. As soon as I drop the wax into the lead and stir it in, I purposely light the fumes coming off. It keeps down the amount of smoke and if you light the fumes yourself, it cuts down on the startle effect that one sometimes gets if it suddenly self ignites. Either way, the flame is your friend as long as you are not near any flammable substances. Don't try to put it out, just let it burn. It is no big deal, it lasts only a few seconds and keeps down the amount of stinky smoke that gathers in your garage (or wherever you are dong your casting). Whatever you do if you needlessly panic and try to put out the flame never, never, never......let me repeat this for effect NEVER!!! try to use water to put out the harmless flame. It will cause an explosion and throw molten lead everywhere including all over you. Have you ever seen anyone with third degree burns? It ain't pretty and you don't want to be the person who experiences them.
 

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