Flux ???

[Macd]

I bet the used stuff doesn't smell as good as the new stuff but it might work just as good lol.

[larryw]

I use sawdust when making ingots and beeswax for the lead pot when making bullets. If you stir it in immediately it doesn't flame. I used to use paraffin wax but it flames quickly and doesn't have the nice honey smell of beeswax. Beeswax candles can be found in most craft stores.

How much wax do you use Mac? I have a 10 & 20# pot, & large Dutch oven for smelting 8 to 10 quart.
Also, does it form a film on top of the melt as a barrier ?

[larryw]

Is that hamster stuff just saw dust or is it treated with something?

Stuff I get is just Plain Pine Shavings, Not Treated with anything...
Again I like It because It's DRY...
Start Stirrin Wet Sawdust into the Melt...You maybe Invitin the Tinsel Fairy for a Visit...

No Fairy visits wanted over here. I saw a tinsel decorated carport once when I
a kid, my neighbor. Looked really cool but the neighbor guy didn't!!

[Macd]

I use sawdust when making ingots and beeswax for the lead pot when making bullets. If you stir it in immediately it doesn't flame. I used to use paraffin wax but it flames quickly and doesn't have the nice honey smell of beeswax. Beeswax candles can be found in most craft stores.

How much wax do you use Mac? I have a 10 & 20# pot, & large Dutch oven for smelting 8 to 10 quart.
Also, does it form a film on top of the melt as a barrier ?

When the 10# pot reaches about 650 I drop in a piece of wax about the size of a chili bean. If I am adding tin I flux after the addition. Stir it in immediately and make sure I get all the gray top skin back into the lead. I then scrape the sides and remove any debris that floats up. The wax smokes but doesn't flame. It doesn't create a barrier film. I repeat each time I add to the pot after it gets back up to temperature. I use a 4 quart stainless pot for smelting and dry sawdust from my table saw. Oak works best. It leaves a charcoal layer on the surface and really collects up the dirt etc. After the stir and skim I add another layer.

[mikld]

I've tried a bunch of different things to "flux" for my cleaning "raw lead", but only beeswax or bullet lube in my casting pot. I have used sawdust, candles, used motor oil, smashed charcoal briquettes, "Good Mews" cat litter, and even newspaper, and mebbe a half dozen more. All worked, some better than others and I normally stick with some sort of wood chips or sawdust. I'm not a metallurgist but I believe the carbon from burning items is what helps clean/"flux" the lead...

[Chickenthief]

For a full 20lbs pot i toss 2-3 scrap sized/lubed bullets in a fresh batch of lead / Tin (Not the Lee mulesnot! But proper bullet lube).
Then i stirr with a wood stick and i'm sure the carbon/oxy thing adds some to the mix. Pixie dust or whatever but it does'nt hurt!
The most important thing about fluxing is getting tin (which rises to the top ever so slow) back in the mix.
No need to flux much for Antimony absorption as it tends to stick to tin and is'nt readily soluble in lead by itself.
But all things add up.

I dont care how much you know, unless you wrote this, youll learn a lot here: http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm