flux idea

I had an idea about flux I use kitty litter in the bottom of my forge to soak upthe 20 mule team borax that i use . after I finish a session at the forge I rake all the clumped up balls of kitty litter and borax out into a metal garbage can. as I remember clay and wood ash was used by the Japanese. do you think that crushing up the kitty litter and borax clumps to dust could be reused as flux. if this works one box of borax would go along way. Russ
 
Who knows whats in the kitty litter. I have used wood ashes, sand, dirt, ground up shells, glass, and borax. It all works. You can really experiment with flux by making combinations of elements to custom fit what you want. Silica sand melts and flows at a red heat but ashes wont until you get to right before the welding temp. Ashes seems to form a cocoon around the steel and encapsulates it holding in the sparks and possibly the carbon. Sand lets the sparks fly when you get to welding temp. You can make combinations of stuff for different melting points etc. Theres a lot to look at when messing with custom fluxes. I like to flux at a red heat with sand and then at an oranger heat with wood ashes on top. The sand flows into every crevice easy and the ashes hold in the sparks at welding heat. This combination works real well. I heard a smith used mud dopper nests with good results too.

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http://www.livelyknives.com

[This message has been edited by lively (edited 06-28-2001).]
 
Joined
Apr 7, 1999
Messages
1,015
Give it a shot. A friend of mine did a liitle research on kitty litter. The clay kind (white stuff) is bentonite a volcanic clay with the highest temp rating, brown clay next and then red clay.

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Sola Fide
 
I think it grows in Nevada, out in the desert. Or else, it sort of follows mules around.

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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Are you guys messing with me???
I have been looking all over for a local supply of anhydrous borax and you tell me that silica sand will work as a flux!! I have been using 20 mule team but am tired of the summer snow storms in the shop.
I drive by huge piles of this stuff every day. People out here think its garbage and let people haul it away just to get rid of it.

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Robert
Flat Land Knife Works
rdblad@telusplanet.net
http://members.tripod.com/knifeworks/index.html
 
Now I have learned something new as well! I have been putting off making a damascus linerlock for quite a while now as I am out of Borax. Thanks very much!

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Tiaan
www.burgerknives.web.za
 
Man you guys are cheap!!!
tongue.gif


I can appreciate trying to make use of something that seems to be garbage...but isn't that kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel?

I keep hearing guys saying MuleTeam is great, but the guys that I have seen use it seem to pour it on the work while most of it falls off. I bought a 5 lb. bag of anhydrous borax for $9...that's awfully cheap for it to stick like it does...and 5 lb. will go a loooooong way for most people.
smile.gif


Good luck,
Nick
 
I HAPPEN TO HAVE A LG SUPPLY OF BORAX. ALL I KNOW ABOUT IT, IT IS COMMERCIAL GRADE. MAX BURNETT OVER ON THE NTS HAS USED IT FOR HIS DAMASCUS AND SAYS IT WORKS FINE.
KEN (WWJD)

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KandS KNIVES
 
The trick to knifemaking is finding something that works for you. Following what you guys said I decided to give it a go, I tried a mixture of sand and ash, with no result. Then I tried sifted ash from my fireplace at home and it worked just fine yesterday, today it all seemed to go wrong! The ash is from pine logs.

Apparently the Japanese use rice straw ash, Jim Hrisoulas said that wheat straw ash also does the job. No rice or wheat here, so I had to make do with pine ash and it works sometimes!
 
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