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Lin Looking for Flux Recipe


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I have seen a few different recipes but never one that mentions dreft by name. The only dreft I know of is a liquid so I am unsure how you'd use that. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will see your post and have something for you. If you add your location you might find someone here is not far away.

 

edit   This is the wrong sub forum btw. Maybe one of the admin can help you move it to a better place.

Edited by M Cochran
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Welcome aboard Linda, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.

I'm thinking there was a little miscommunication. Borax is a common laundry additive, not a detergent. You do NOT want detergent in welding flux. Plain old Borax works well though there are improvements can be made.

My old recipe was about 3-4 pts borax to 1 pt. boric acid. Welding suppliers carry fluxes in their gas welding/brazing area that serve nicely. Read the ingredients and look for borax, boric acid and maybe iron powder. There are many commercially sold forge welding fluxes as well.

Maybe Teenylittlemetalguy will pipe up with the recipe he's been experimenting with.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Good question Thomas, if she's trying to reproduce something she heard about in conversation, especially at a meeting or conference you could be exactly right.

Now you have me thinking about Superquench, why not put borax in it? I'll have to dig out a thermometer but I'll bet a borax solution has a higher boiling temp than water and borax is a surfacant so bubbles wouldn't form as easily. That's primarily what borax seems to do as a wash additive, I toss a bit in the dish washer, it does a better job preventing spots than finish, etc.

Linda: please chime in, we need a little more info to be able to help out. Specifically we need to know what you want to do with the recipe.

Just the term "flux" has different meanings depending on context. For instance "A flux" can be something to aid in flushing a system. Castor oil was sometimes given as a flux to clean the bowels.

Well, let's hope that didn't muddy the question beyond salvation.

Frosty The Lucky.

Edited by Frosty
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  • 1 month later...

I am using this as a welding flux.  Thank you for your advice, it is appreciated 

Thanks. Frosty , appreciate your input!

I have seen a few different recipes but never one that mentions dreft by name. The only dreft I know of is a liquid so I am unsure how you'd use that. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than I will see your post and have something for you. If you add your location you might find someone here is not far away.

edit   This is the wrong sub forum btw. Maybe one of the admin can help you move it to a better place.

Thanks M Cochran.  they do have dreft in a powder form, wanting. to put together a welding flux, just not sure what the best ratio of dreft to borax would be.  Appreciate your reply.

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I don't know what Dreft is so I'll let that lay. My home brew welding flux is 3-4 pts borax and 1pt boric acid and it works noticably better than straight borax. However I tried a commercial flux from the welding supply. It's powder intended for gas brazing, silver soldering, welding cast iron, aluminum, etc. It's anhydrous borax and boric acid and was about 1/4 the price of buying a "forge welding" flux from a blacksmith supply and it works a like a charm. Just read the labels of the commercial fluxes and see what's in them.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Lye is a caustic base and borax is a base. I haven't hear of lye in forge welding flux,  I'd sure be nervous even handling it let alone putting it in the fire and hitting it. At least till I saw enough evidence to convince me it's not more dangerous than helpful.

Frosty The Lucky.

Edited by Frosty
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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow. That's a cool list, but a little worrisome. Potassium ferrocyanide?  That's pretty safe, but get a little in your etch bucket and you've got hydrogen cyanide gas. 

And potassium nitrate....well, my wife's told me firmly and repeatedly that I'm not allowed to play with homemade gunpowder anymore.

Reminds me though, I've still got a couple of dirt dauber nests on the front porch to grind down and try as flux. I know I've read about using them somewhere....

Edited by Nobody Special
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Also, there seems to have been a change in the powdered Dreft product. This is what I found for the ingredients on an MSDS for the older product.

Enzyme(s) (unspecified)000000-00-3 
Surfactant(s) (unspecified)000000-00-4 
Sodium carbonate000497-19-810.0-30.0
Subtilisin (proteolytic enzyme)009014-01-1<0.1
Isopropylamine dodecylbenzenesulfonate026264-05-1 
Alkyl (C10-C16) benzenesulfonic acid, sodium salt068081-81-210.0-30.0
 
Edited by Nobody Special
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