George,
Excellent, glad you're out of the closet (so-to-speak
), and everything worked out first-time! Sounds like you had fun with your magic show!
I use a chunk or paraffin about the size of a sugar cube when fluxing a large pot of melted tire weights. That amount of flux is needed to wet all the steel clips, and for all the extra crud and road grime. If you're fluxing a pot of lead without all that crud, or if you are fluxing a smaller pot, then you could use about half that much wax. Give it a try and see what works best for you.
I like to cut up a bunch of chunks of wax that are about the right size, so they're handy when I need 'em. It's easier to cut up the wax if it's a little bit warm. I use a sharp chef's knife and slice up a deli-cup of wax chunks-- some a little larger, some smaller-- to have on-hand for different fluxing chores. A deli-cup full lasts a long time.
Glad to hear the fluxing and pouring went well. The nice thing about working with lead is it seems like there's always something new to learn-- but that certainly doesn't mean you're doing anything else 'wrong'. The thing to take from this is that often there are techniques and methods for dealing with just about any problem. Believe me, I've had to struggle with many days of frustrating pouring/casting problems. So, if you find you're having a problem or difficulty with something, or you're just not getting the results you expect-- let me know, and if there's a solution, we'll find it. And as you've seen, sometimes the solution can be surprisingly simple. Simple tricks are the best tricks, hey?
Thank you very much for the kind words, George. If I'm ever in your neck of the woods, I'll give you a shout!
Good luck!
