[TheForge] Re: Flux, was rust & pickling

Tue Aug 19 20:26:00 2003

Shees you guys.  Yes this has come up before, and about 3 years ago after
(the first time) I said that I dried it successfully in the oven  there was
a bunch of hubbub about maybe it would work and maybe it wouldn't, and
finally someone suggested that it might be worth trying.

After all this talk has anyone else tried that?  Would someone *PLEASE* go
put some on a cookie sheet and stick in the oven?  Again, stir it while it's
drying or it will cake up.

Ed

Get a damn cookie sheet
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Freeman" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 1:44 PM
Subject: [TheForge] Re: Flux, was rust & pickling

> This subject seems to come up repeatedly.  I don't know specifically
> about borax, but most inorganic chemicals start releasing their water at
> temperatures much below their melting points.  Working at about 350 in a
> standard oven would probably suffice.  Again, I haven't tried this with
> borax, but I'd suggest trying it before going to higher temperatures or
> melting and regrinding it.
>
> Many anhydrous chemicals, probably including borax, will absorb water
> from the air.  However, the simple expedient of keeping it in a closed
> container will protect it from air.  The short time it is open for use
> will generally not result in a massive uptake of water.  I'd suggest you
> keep your anhydrous borax in a large jar, and pour it into a smaller
> jars for use.
>
> Bruce
> NJ
>
> >>> [email protected] 08/19/03 12:45PM >>>
>
> > So are you telling me that melting borax on an iron cookie will pick
> > up some of the iron?
>
> Following up to my own post...
>
> How do you melt borax on a cookie tin?  The melting point is around
> 1500F, a red heat.
>
> Checking in the handbook, borax loses 8 of its 10 bound water
> molecules at 140F and the rest at about 400F.  But it doesn't melt
> until waayyy hotter than that.
>
> I never tried to dehydrate borax in the oven at, say, 450F.  I melted
> some up last night over the forge in a cast iron ladle (kinda messy),
> poured it into a cast iron bowl where it turned to black glass.  Broke
> it up into pea size, then ran it through an old manual meat grinder
> with the hamburger die modified to be more like a grain grinder.  Nice
> powdery stuff that should be good for flux.
>
> Someone said that anhydrous borax will quickly re-absorb water from
> the air.  I think a maybe the advantage to bothering with melting and
> grinding the borax is that in the glassy state it doesn't do that very
> readily.
>
> Just 'spearminting around...
>
> - Mike
>
> --
> Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~.
>
>   /V\
> [email protected]
>  /( )\
> http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/
>  ^^-^^
>
> --
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  [email protected]
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  [email protected]
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>
>