Hi Folks, I’m back again (the bad nickel :-)). I’ve been quietly
casting and recasting my metal, making ingots and rods, and now I’ve
run into a couple of problems. I seem to be getting little lumps of
flux in my pours, which come out in the pickle, that leave dimples in
the metal. Is there anything I can to control this, and will it
affect the metal if I were to draw or roll it out? Also, I’ve got
about 5 ozs of sterling to play with, and it’s getting a bit funny.
It’s becoming brittle in the crucible before it melts, and generally
not pouring well. Is it becoming overworked, contaminated or what,
and what can I do to prevent this? Much as I’d like to I can’t
afford to purchase new metal just to play with, so I’m stuck with the
stuff I’ve got right now. I’ve plumbed the archives, but that’s a
dangerous area, as I’m always getting sidetracked by interesting
articles. Thanks for all the help and the patience that the members
of the list have shown me.
Richard, in cool, slowly warming Michigan