Nik Hintz

Thanks again. I have tried a few more times, the results are improving, but I think seeing it done will help. I'm hoping someone at the NY designer blacksmiths meeting will be able to give a demo this weekend.

In regards to valves being sodium filled, unless you are getting parts from something truly exotic,(Ferrari...) only the exhaust valves would be Na filled. Intake valves don't see near as much heat so they are just good steel (don't know what grade). I have had good luck making burnishers, scrapers, and gravers from briggs and stratton valves. Has anyone tried a tumbler (rock polisher) and some sort of abrasive media to remove chrome plate? Seems like it should work.

Thanks for the thoughts. To clarify, the 2# hammer was used for testing the weld, not setting it, and the flux is anhydrous borax I had left over from some silver casting. Another thought I have is that I might not be getting things quite hot enough, has anyone ever tried mixing a little iron filing with the flux to act as an indicator of temp. I seem to recall reading about that somewhere, but my memory is far from perfect...

Greetings all, I'm working on forge welding, but am definitely still on the uphill side of the learning curve. My best result thus far has been working with 3/8 round stock, making simple rings, so as to eliminate the variables of heating, moving, and aligning multiple parts, but the best weld has failed after 1 or 2 whacks with a 2# hammer. The test is done by cutting through the side of the ring opposite the weld, then clamping in a vise and hitting the free, cut end. As far as I can tell, the flux is working, the failed weld face is bright and clean looking. So on to the real question, how clean does the fire really need to be, will a bit of clinker stuck to the sides of the fire pot prevent a good weld, or am I just looking for something to blame other than my inexperience and poor technique. Any thoughts or tips would be great; Nik

A solution of copper sulfate in water will remove zinc fairly quickly, and is not particularly nasty to work with. It will, after long exposure, begin to etch the steel, but very slowly. Most any hardware store will sell it as root killer for septic systems or buried pipes. I have been working on a way to make copper sulfate work on pattern welded steel, but need some more testing to work the bugs out. I'll post it up once it is figured out.

With the arrival of a half ton of coke, my fuel choice has been made... Now I just need to build something to burn it in. So far, the only aspects of the design I am reasonably set on are the basic materials, (mostly because I already have them)which are as follows: steel for the shell and structure, 2600 degree kaowool for the back up insulation, and a 3000 degree high alumina castable for the lining. However, I have not been able to find any plans on the web, so once again, I call on your collective knowledge. what I am looking for is something that I can put in the back of a truck if I need to (needing 2 people to lift it is not ideal, but ok) I am leaning toward a linear fire rather than a single round tuyer, and it will most likely have an electric blower. Any help would be great.

thanks again for the suggestions, I went out and tried the beat on it with a big hammer method today, much easier than I anticipated, only took about 5 minutes to fill a 5 gallon bucket.

Thanks for the input, i suspected the answer would involve hitting it with a hammer. Looks like free comes with the price of physical labor... I should be getting the forge shell together in the next few days, with the insulation and liner set to cast early next week, dependent on when the kaowool shows up. I'll do my best to document the process, but make no promises because the camera is with the wife on the other side of the continent.

Greetings all,new to the forum, and the world of blacksmithing. Long story short, in looking to build a solid fuel forge, i came across a source of industrial coke, for the right price (free). Problem is the lumps are way too big to use,so the question is, how to crush it and what size am I shooting for. Any help would be great.