Pro tip: I was cleaning my ladle wrong for years until a new guy pointed it out.

I always used a wire brush and water to clean the slag out after a pour, thinking a quick scrub was enough. This new hire, a quiet guy from the Toledo plant, just watched me one day and said, 'You're leaving a glaze, that's why your next pour sticks.' He showed me using a dry, coarse grit stone first to really break it up. Has anyone else found a better method for getting that ladle truly clean?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ruby2mo agoTop Commenter

That dry stone trick is a game changer (wish I'd known sooner).

noahjenkins2mo ago

Honestly, that "leaving a glaze" line from your post is so true. I read a shop manual once that said the same thing, that any leftover film just bakes on harder next time. They talked about using a specific kind of pumice block after the dry stone for a final pass. It gets the last bit of dust out so there's nothing to fuse. Tbh it adds like thirty seconds and makes a real difference.

bettyk531mo ago

Is it really that big of a deal? I mean, we're talking about a ladle, not a surgery tool. I get the idea, but sometimes I think people just like to make simple jobs sound super fancy. Ruby, you're right it's a game changer, but come on, a pumice block too? Feels like overkill for cleaning out some old metal.

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