I have bullet lube, bees wax, and other forms of wax. Marvelux was a commercial mix I used. I thought of borax but don't know? Any other novel ideas? TIA Packy

packrat--If you are using a bottom pour furnace, you can place a layer of kitty litter on top and just let it stay there. If dipping you can't use that method.

I've used wax and sawdust most often. Beeswax smells good and works quite well. the sawdust I use is from some Spanish cedar and also smells good and works quite well. The sawdust seems to help gather up the dross for removal a bit better. I also stir the melt with a dry piece of pine which seems to act as a flux all by itself.

wood will put carbon in the alloy.
this is a true flux through a process called carborization.
you have to get the carbon back out of the alloy so stirring it in deeply poses it's own problems.
it is useful, and if you work the alloy through the burnt ashes it will clean it sparkling.

Borax [marvelux] will pull heavy metals from the alloy, and also some of the tin.
it's greater fault however is it is hydroscopic
everything that touches it will become coated and will continuously draw moisture in from the air.

Wood will not put carbon into the melt but it will remove impurities. Like any flux the resulting ash must be removed.

As it carburizes in the heat it produces activated charcoal, the same stuff that makes a gas mask work. Activated charcoal will bind impurities. Carbon does not react or alloy with lead or tin or antimony.

Marvelux is not Borax. It is salammoniac and it is hygroscopic. Vapors of Marvelux will attach to any metal nearby and cause rusting of any ferrous metal. It is, however, an excellent flux just use it outside and don't use much.

Borax is used as a barrier against Oxygen by forming a molten, glass like, barrier on the surface of the melt. It isn't a flux and should be used only after the melt has been well and properly fluxed. It eliminates the need for additional fluxing and only works well with bottom pour pots.

I use plain old dry sawdust both for making ingots as well as the final flux before casting. I also leave the char on top of my melt till I'm ready to add more ingots to the pot.

The last paragraph pretty much explains why I use the sawdust. http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_4_Fluxing.htm

I've used Bees wax,Marvelux,but mostly runover from the lube in my sizer.I have used sal ammoniac on occasion although I don't recommend it even with good ventilation. We use it here in the metal shop to tin our soldering irons,but it is Ammonia Chloride.

my stand by is birthday cake candles... just put the whole candle in and the wax and wick make a great flux materiel.........

I always thought I wanted to upgrade from beeswax to Marvelux.
Used it (Marvelux) one time and it was the last time that can was opened.

I prefer sawdust to most everything except a little wax and sawdust.

I too leave the char on the surface and it seems to provide a protective blanket (I assume it provides a reducing atmosphere on the molten metals surface) and little or nothing works to the surface til the next ingot addition.
I read about a lot of different techniques and try something new once in a while, but seem to go back and use what has worked for me over time.

I flux with Husky Pre Mix 2 stroke oil.
No flames,with little smoke.

Works for sprue plate lube also.

Coat your molds after casting also.

Makes for a wonderful bullet lube mixed/blended w/beeswax & paraffin wax.

quote:

Originally posted by TCLouis:
I always thought I wanted to upgrade from beeswax to Marvelux.
Used it (Marvelux) one time and it was the last time that can was opened.

I prefer sawdust to most everything except a little wax and sawdust.


I too leave the char on the surface and it seems to provide a protective blanket (I assume it provides a reducing atmosphere on the molten metals surface) and little or nothing works to the surface til the next ingot addition.
I read about a lot of different techniques and try something new once in a while, but seem to go back and use what has worked for me over time.

You are spot on TC. I quit the Marvelux after a couple of uses many many years ago and use sawdust from my table saw catch box almost exclusively.

Candle wax. Works fine, have an abundance. I'd like to try sawdust but I dip almost exclusively so that eliminates that possibility.

I use a dipper and use sawdust. Just stir it in like wax and when it stops burning and smoking skim it off with the dross. Or with a bottom pour leave it on evenly spread over the top.

Best is resin flux. Sold specifically as flux. I used to cast commercially using two matched Hensley & Gibbs moulds using pure linotype.

Resin flux smells sweet, doesn't chuck out the residue that causes iron/steel to rust that plumber's flux does and works.

If I couldn't get it I used a lump of tallow. You can buy it in pots for fluxing. Or a small off-cut from a household candle.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
packrat--If you are using a bottom pour furnace, you can place a layer of kitty litter on top and just let it stay there. If dipping you can't use that method.

what does the kitty litter do? Just keep it from oxidizing? and I assume you mean the old style stuff (diatomaceous earth)

Crisco. Works well. Not for indoor use. Nor is bullet casting either unless you have massive ventilation.

paraffin wax.

Dave

As I noted earlier I used, here in UK, rosin or resin flux. It came in tablets, about the size the end of a large thmb and looked like amber coloured glass. Smelt nice too.



When I ran out of that I used a small piece of paraffin wax candle. Both candle and the rosin flux ignite by themselves as they are are soon at combustion temperature.

resin is tree sap.
rosin is ground up dried tree sap.
both turn to charcoal bits and carborize the alloy which is a proper fluxing.
PITA to get back out of the alloy butis an actual proper fluxing.

wax is just a reductant.
it works to return oxides back into the melt by providing an oxygen free barrier to the surface of the alloy,,, but it ain't fluxing.

JBB,I like the concept of birthday candles;not saying I will try it but I like the thought.