[reeves]

OK, it is official! I am out of the closet and never going back. You guys would have given good money to be a fly on the wall watching this operation. I used some parafin I had laying around, cut it into about the size of a sugar cube. Got some chunks of paper towels to light with and my lighter. The melt was ready to go. I dropped in the cube of wax, not sure of what exactly to expect. Grabbed the chunk of paper towel and the lighter and lit it. Now I have to admit, I really thought Sagacious had lost it when he said to light the smoke as I had never seen or heard of that being done. Thought I was performing one of those magic shows when I introduced the burning paper towel over the melting wax cube. Poof! Scared the tar out of me. It flamed a bit higher than I expected, which worried me some. Grabbed the long handled ladle and commenced stirring. Got a ton of smoke with the parafin, so will try to get some bees wax for future use. Once the smoking died down, I skimmed the sludge off the top and started casting. Oh yeah, I also lowered the pot temp. Casting went flawless and the melt was sludge free. No more dross whatsoever throughout the entire casting session. Can't believe I have been doing it wrong for so long.

Sagacious, I want to really thank you for sharing and teaching. Without your help I would still be destined to a life of mega-dross. Wow, I am so impressed. Anyway, thank you a thousand times over. If ever you need something that I may be able to help you with, you just ring the bell and I will answer.

Guys, this has been an amazing post, that I think (from what I am reading anyway) everyone has learned from. I would love to have Sagacious come to my shop and show me what else I may be doing wrong, but that is just wishful thinking, but you are invited if you ever get to Oklahoma.