forge welding

[Jsteiner]

I actually just heard of the poke test at bladeforum. You heat a thick coat hanger flux and touch it to a piece of metal if you have welding heat it will fuse to the metal

[tetnum]

thanks for all the help every one i will give it another try today

[ThomasPowers]

Getting the fire right is really important! If the fire is done right things will weld in the fire if you are not carefull.

The better the forge welder you are the more liberties you can take. Until then try to get all the variables lined up perfectly.

Also some steels seem to be hard to weld. You may want to try a totally different piece and see if you have better luck.

Also once you have "missed" a weld it's a lot harder to get those pieces to weld again.

I've seen Dorthy Stigler sling the gradeau off between forge and anvil; but she is a better smith than I. If the pieces are scarfed to push out the flux and crud it's not necessary though it may make for more of a spray when welding.

[simmonds]

I have found that all I really need to do is make sure the fire is CLEAN right before and that I have at least 3 inches of coke between the tuyere and the metal and a cavern of coke around the piece. As soon as the metal starts to scale I remove it from the fire, quick wire brush, apply flux then back in fire until it reaches welding temp ( metal looks kind of like melted glass and is the same color as the fire). Works (almost) every time. For the best quality welds make sure the pieces to be joined are properly prepared. A complete weld will take at least 3 heats. A good forge weld can be hacksawed in two and no seam will be visible unlike the far less superior arc weld. Just practice and it will seem natural after time. Chris.

[tetnum]

thanks for all the help
i finaly got one to stick and it bends with the metal when vice tested the problem seamed to be the metal thank you

[Dutchmancreek]

I'm usually pretty successful forge welding. Some points I might offer.....

Having a deep fire to use up the oxygen before it gets to the steel is important. Back when I had a shallow, flat forge I couldn't weld until I built up the height of the fire with fire bricks. My forge now has a deep fire pot.

Some new hot rolled steel has a coating of some sort of mill scale that can hamper welding. I make sure to grind the surface clean before I weld.

Have a clean fire...coke and no clinkers.

Small parts cool fast. I have a small anvil right on the forge to stick them before they cool. Small or large, work fast.

It doesn't take a heavy blow to weld the parts together. A heavy hit can deform the parts or even cause them to slip.

Be confident, think of what you are going to do before you take the piece from the fire. It doesn't hurt to practice your motions (especially if you are doing a "drop the tongs" weld).

Steve