I cast round balls using pure lead. Most loading instructions tell us to flux with beeswax, etc. but it is my understanding that fluxing helps keep alloys properly mixed in the molten state and therefore should not be necessary with pure lead. I skim off the crud that floats to the top in my melting pot as pouring progresses. Should I flux my melting pot regardless?
Need to Flux With Pure Lead?
- Thread starter Ol' Flinter
- Start date
Yes.
Sawdust, a chunk of wax, a pine stick. Something is going to be better than chucking out the lead you went to the trouble of hauling home.
Cheers
Trev
Warning if fluxing with wax, at least with paraffin wax, if your lead is nice and hot, it will spontaneously combust. I found the part of the instructions mentioning that a couple pages behind where it said paraffin was a good flux, by then I was already well aware of the problem.
As long as you don't have anything flammable within a couple feet over the pot, it's not too big of a deal.
As long as you don't have anything flammable within a couple feet over the pot, it's not too big of a deal.
blacksmithden
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Flux is not keeping alloys mixed with the lead. Tin and antimony are in solution, not suspension. They will not separate. By fluxing, you're giving the impurities in the metal something to bond to and rise to the top rather than floating around in the lead and eventually building up on the sides of your pot.....or winding up in your bullets. Flux your pure lead as you would any other alloyed lead to get as much of the dirty stuff out as possible.
