I would appreciate some advice on how to care for alloy, specifically Linotype at 700 degrees.
As some of you may know I’ve been working toward cast accuracy with a modern bolt gun and have narrowed the process down to using single cavity brass mold’s (~198 to 214 grain) and ladle casting from a 10lb Lyman pot. My cadence is twice as long as yours but the results are worth it for me. Sprue cut, base fill out and weight deviation is good to great. But my alloy does not like being heated over an extended period of time at 690 - 700.
Starting with a freshly fluxed mirror like surface I’m soon getting what I think is tin oxidation on the surface, which build up as I paw the surface with my ladle over a period of time, say 30 minutes or longer.
A heavy foam like oxidate’d alloy builds up on the surface (edges of the pot since I’m pawing a path clear in the middle and doesn’t reduce when I re-flux. Instead it clings to the cedar shavings (pet store) I’m using even after considerable stirring. Alloy is then being carried out along with the dross when I skim the surface.
How do you keep your alloy fresh when ladle pouring over an extended period of time. Thanks Bill Cook.
Patience isn’t a virtue, it’s a delay tactic.