[JPH]

Hello:

Hope no one minds my two cents here....

On the borax/flux thing..what materials are you welding in this chain?/ If it is plain old "iron/mild steel" borax will be fine...You can get anhydrous borax for like $1.00 a pound at most pottery suppliers. At least that is what it costs me here in the Las Vegas Valley. Same for fluorspar and a few other handy "blacksmithing chemicals".

Now if you are welding alloys that have Mo, V, W, Co and especially Ni and Cr you will need a flux that is a bit more agressive than plain borax. But I would say that for 95% of the work you will be doing, borax will be more than adequate.

Ok..I have to take exception with your statement about the charcoal. There is nothing "wrong" with using charcoal for a fuel, in fact it was the "original metalworker's fuel" for thousands of years. You can melt steel in a charcoal fire, with the right blast.

One word of advise: DO NOT USE BRIQUETTES..They are Henry Ford's revenge if you ask me. REAL charcoal (I use either the local mesquite or the hardwood lump available at resturaunt supplers...they usually have the best prices...shop around) burns HOT with the right blast and it burns CLEAN. works especially well for stainless steels. As for the blast you need a low pressure high volume blast. think of an open window and a gentle breeze vs a 1/4" pipe of compresses air...Same CFM different pressure. Charcoal burns differently than coal/coke plus it smells like you are having a cook out rather than 19th cent Pennsyvania steel mills. Believe me, you can weld in a charcoal fire quite easily.

Anyway , hope this helps..

JPH