Casting questions

All of the home-brew fluxing methods will work but the best results by far if you can find MARVALUX which is a fluxing compound for casting. A small % of tin added to pure lead will help the fill-out on slugs as will casting hot. One method that is used to keep down oxidation when casting hot and using a bottom pour pot is to sprinkle powdered borax on top of the melt after it has been thoroughly fluxed. It melts and forms abarrier on the top of the pot.
 
44Bore said:
All of the home-brew fluxing methods will work but the best results by far if you can find MARVALUX which is a fluxing compound for casting. A small % of tin added to pure lead will help the fill-out on slugs as will casting hot. One method that is used to keep down oxidation when casting hot and using a bottom pour pot is to sprinkle powdered borax on top of the melt after it has been thoroughly fluxed. It melts and forms abarrier on the top of the pot.
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I used to use Marvellux (sp?) and it did a good job fluxing but it created a black foam on top of the melt that seemed to coat the pot and was hard to get off. In the end I went back to the paraffin wax technique.
 
44Bore said:
All of the home-brew fluxing methods will work but the best results by far if you can find MARVALUX which is a fluxing compound for casting. A small % of tin added to pure lead will help the fill-out on slugs as will casting hot. One method that is used to keep down oxidation when casting hot and using a bottom pour pot is to sprinkle powdered borax on top of the melt after it has been thoroughly fluxed. It melts and forms abarrier on the top of the pot.
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I don't know about recomending using Borax as a fluxing agent.I tried it once as someone I knew swore by it. I threw a small amount into my leadpot and the damn thing blew lead all over the place.Borax hydroscopicly tends to bind with water and I feel safer using wax or sawdust as a flux.
 
So saturday i started melting down 25lb of scrap lead. Overall i think it went pretty good for my first time. I do have one issue tho. After i fluxed and removed the surface junk the surface would constantly "skin" over. I am assuming because its exposed to the air ? I managed to cast a few slugs too which went great minus a few wrinkled ones at the beginning ( mold not hot enought i gather)

Now time to buy a producion pot and do some slug molding :) thanks again to everyone for the help.
 
Yes the skinning over is a natural part of the lead contacting the air. When the layer gets too thick and can't be moved out of the way when ladling, I then skim and discard the dross.
 
harbl_the_cat said:
Just curious - does anyone know if you can flux using dried out pine needles?
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I know that in most coniferous trees (pine, cedar, etc.) the sap is extremely flammable. It might work but I would be concerned about the gas formed by the burning needles splashing lead out of the pot. Might not be an issue at all but I would proceed with extreme caution. We all know what happens when moisture is introduced into molten lead. :eek: Wear Safety Glasses!!
 
The reference to borax was to float it on top to create an oxidation barrier--it is not stirred into the melt as a fluxing agent. As always, caution is advisable when working with molten lead.
 
Put "Cast Boolits" into google and I guarantee you will never need info from anywhere else ever. I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned yet. It is easily the biggest casting forum on the net.
 
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