Okay I am almost there

[BigBlack]

Got all my bullet casting stuff.

Today I purchased about 5.25 gallons of used wheel weights for $40.00. The best I could find around here, we have a company who manufactures fishing lures so he grabs up nearly any around.

I have a pot that I am making a bottom pour valve for and a turkey fryer burner.

I know I need to get the lead in the pot and melted. I know I need to skim the crap off the top. I know I then need to flux but here is where my question is.

1. Will used motor oil work for fluxing, I have read somehwere that it will and I have plenty of that. If not can pick up some candles from the dollar tree or something.

2. How do I know when I have fluxed enough and ready to pour my ingots?

 

[Shoney]

Don't know about the motor oil, but for the past 500 years or so. animal fat has been used as flux. Smelly, but you should be casting either outside or in a well ventilated place anyway.

 

[jgh4445]

BB I flux as I smelt. Put a bit of flux in, stir and then skim. Be sure to stir down deep and scrape the sides and bottom. The purpose of the flux so I am told, is to give the impurities something to stick to so it will rise to the top and be there to skim off. Once you skim the junk off, you'll see a silver looking liquid. Kinda reminds you of mercury.Looks real clean and pure. When you see that, it's time to pour. Your using a bottom pour so the stuff on top isn't going into the mold.

 

[RustyFN]

I flux with wax. I use about a one inch cube in a six quart pot. I only flux once per pot. I scrape the sides and bottom real good and let it set for a couple of minutes then skim the junk off the top. I smelt in a separate pot than my casting pot. This is what my smelting setup looks like.
The pot is a six quart dutch oven with lid from Harbor Freight for $12. The burner is a Bayou Classic 186,000 BTU and will melt some lead fast.

Wax for flux, 20" slotted spoon for scooping clips and a 24" solid spoon for cleaning the top.

A Rowell #3 ladle for filling the ingot molds.

I made these ingot molds at work out of 3" channel. If I fill them about half way the ingots will fit in my Lee 10# bottom pour pot. My wife also bought me some cast iron muffin pans.

I had three buckets I smelted Sunday.

I am fairly new at this myself and am having a lot of fun learning. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am and I hope this helps.
Rusty

 

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

"1. Will used motor oil work for fluxing, I have read somehwere that it will and I have plenty of that. If not can pick up some candles from the dollar tree or something."

Yes, it'll work fine. Almost anything that's carbon based will work fine as a flux.

"2. How do I know when I have fluxed enough and ready to pour my ingots?"

When your melt looks silvery and clean. Keep your temperature between 625 and 650 degrees so you don't overheat the smelt as this will cause any zinc wheel weights to melt and ruin your bullet lead. When it gets up to 625 F, stir in some motor oil, let it burn off, stir again when it's done burning and scoop out the trash/nastiness. You can use a hardwood stick/small board as a stirring stick and that'll help flux a great deal. Scoop out with a stainless steel spoon.

Hope this helps,

Dave

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I always used wax to flux, even old pieces of crayon will work!

 

[snuffy]

Wax, paraffin wax is a petroleum product, just as is used crankcase oil. Both will work as a flux. The carbon is what reduces some of the oxide that floats to the top of the melt.

The best material for fluxing is stearic acid.
http://www.chemistrystore.com/stearic_acid.htm

IIRC it's a by-product of animal fat. It's used in the making of dripless candles and there's quite a bit of it in ivory soap. Some have shredded ivory soap to sprinkle some on the melt. They say it works. They also say it stinks!

Sawdust is also used. I guess it doesn't matter what kind of wood produces the sawdust, but when it chars, you get the beneficial carbon.