Hi all, anyone out there flux with sawdust and how does it work for you? Just getting ready to get back into casting and have been reading up and ran across several refrences to using sawdust as a fluxing agent. On a unrelated subject I read about useing eithier Ballistol or Kroil as a mould release agent but cannot find the artical again, anyone do this? Back when I was casting it was SOP that the mould be squeaky clean and smoked with a match. Any info appreciated!
Bob,
It matters what kind of mould you are using. If it is a Lee 6 cavity, then your assumptions are right. Personally, no smoking for me nor any release agent. I get some water as hot as I can stand to stick my hands in, a scrub brush and the Dawn dish soap. Preheat the mould a bit, put it in the water and scrub the fire out of it. Have some boiling water on the stove and rinse carefully. You MAY have to repeat this. I use stick bullet lube on the guide pins and spruce bolt, if needed.
Most of my moulds are either brass or cast iron now and they drop bullets like CRAZY!
On my HP MOULDS THOUGH, I LEARNED A TRICK FROM AN OLD BULLET CASTER THAT WORKS SUPER. Take the Lock Ease Graphite and mix it with pure rubbing alcohol. I use CRC spray and put a squirt into the can lid and apply directly to the pins and their alignment pins with a Qtip, and allow to dry completely. My boolits drop off of those pins like crazy!
The brass Cramer style moulds from Miha, mp-molds.com are the cat's meow and well worth their money.
Just me but, that is what I do. If you smelt from wheel weights, keep it well under 750*F. There are a lot more zinc weights out there now and they melt at that temperature. It doesn't take much zinc, in the ppm category, to ruin a large melt.
Remember your gloves, long sleeved shirt and to cast in a well ventilated area. Saw dust works as a flux. I use candle wax that is out of my wife's Scentsy pot now, or paraffin or bullet lube. All work about as well and you can light the fumes with a match and have no smoke.
Have fun, be safe!
