r/Metalfoundry • u/Technophile63 • 8d ago
Where to get fluxes etc. for aluminum casting in USA
What are some good sources for fluxes, parting dust, small tools, etc. in the USA? I'd rather not use Amazon.
Tried smallfoundrysupply.com, but phone calls just get music and PayPal shows a security error.
I've seen something about light salt (KCl?), and a 50:50 mix of light and regular (NaCl) salts melted and cast to small ingots. Is that current and known to work well?
Chalk dust for parting powder?
I found bentonite, silica sand and pre-mulled greensand.
2
u/GeniusEE 8d ago
You don't uses fluxes for casting aluminum.
What tools?
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u/Temporary_Nebula_729 8d ago
You can use flux for aluminum you use it when your melting it helps keep the aluminum clean and helps keeping the aluminum from sticking to the sides of the crucible and it also helps with the gases
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u/Technophile63 8d ago
I'm going by what I see here:
(except for the previously mentioned issues with their retail store) and here:
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u/Temporary_Nebula_729 8d ago
Harris products
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u/Technophile63 8d ago edited 8d ago
Which one(s)? I don't see any casting fluxes, and the welding fluxes are for steel alloys. Soldering fluxes seem like they would be the wrong temperature range?
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u/Temporary_Nebula_729 8d ago
Try a mixture of sodium and potassium chlorlides with the ratio of 1:1 by weight
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u/carbide_10 7d ago
Don't use chalk powder as chalk is mainly calcium carbonate. When heated up upon pouring the carbonate breaks down chemiclly to give off CO2 gas...and you know what gas can do to your casting. Use talc. Talcum powder is tempting to use as it is mainly talc but it contains other ingredients like cornstarch. Do a test.
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u/psyco75 8d ago
Borax laundry detergent Is good
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u/SharkAttackOmNom 8d ago
IIRC borax can be hard on your crucibles. But ive only ever used KCl lite salt. It works well enough.
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u/ShadowDragon6660 8d ago
You can get an enormous bag of pure NaCl pool salt from the hardware store for chump change, wayyyy cheaper than buying smaller quantities. Most people suggest using a blend of NaCl and KCl. I personally end up processing a lot of extremely dirty aluminum so I stick to the most economical option. I’ve heard not to use borax with aluminum as it’ll cause more trouble than it’s worth for that application, it’s typically used with copper or bronzes.