teenylittlemetalguy

That should do the trick. I only mention it because there are lots of burners out there that are not easy to adjust the balance so he could be needing to adjust his burner. I use a Frosty T which is set and forget (love it!). So often people build them and once it is running they think they are done but they have a crummy mix for welding.

No sweat, I don't want to be that argument guy either. Life is to short. My words weren't correct. By fuel I mean combined air and gas. If your mix is way to high in air and low in gas you can still put so much of that bad mix into a forge that flames will come out the door. It is not a reliable indicator that you have a rich enough mix to weld. I have failed to weld many times with flames shooting out the door and metal thinking about melting in the forge all because there was just a little too much air. a small adjustment to the mix and I welded just fine (and at lower temps).

If you are dumping too much fuel into a forge it will have to get out to burn. It doesn't matter what the mix is, too much fuel is too much.

I see lots of good advice here, but think it would be worthwhile to contemplate the gas/air mix. Welding in propane gets a bad wrap because so many burners out there run and heat just fine, but the mix is still off for welding. A little too much oxygen and bam!- no weld, or crummy weld and the smith thinks it is their fault. Try putting a small handful of charcoal in the forge to soak up excess oxygen next time you weld and see if it helps.

Frosty, I went and looked at Calcium Chloride to see if it was a reasonable thing to try for flux or not. Learned a ton, apparently it is used as a flux for Titanium production... Makes one think... But apparently it can't be used in reinforced concrete as it corrodes iron, so I would guess probably not the best idea for welding steel. I did like to see it is used for making activated charcoal.

I was hoping they would develop a taste for Meth head and help reduce the numbers around here... If they did I would gladly brush it down. I am surprised you haven't seen a bear up there on the fault line, but that is a good thing for the pets.

Working very early in the shop the other morning I hear a cat outside in the scrap pile. As I come around the corner both the "cat" and I realize we want to go other directions, quickly. Not exactly a pet, but as close as I will probably get to having one in the shop.

Fancy! Real slate! I have to settle for a white board.

The Association of Alaskan Blacksmiths is proud to present our 2019 Visiting Instructor- Peter Braspenninx of Phyre Forge. If you are unfamiliar with his work take a look at his gallery! http://www.phyreforge.com/gallery-1 Day one is to be basic to intermediate Joinery and layout. Day two will build on the previous days work and stretch to include fire welding. Class will be held at Arctic Fire Bronze Studio in Palmer Sept 21-22 of 2019 and will be limited to 6 students. Fee $300.00 Prepayment required to reserve your spot. Serious inquiries please PM me for ticket sales information.

Aside from the obvious things like saving on therapy costs and generally living a happier life I have met some fantastic people that I otherwise would not have had the honor of knowing. I have learned more than I care to admit and a couple callouses that I am pretty proud of.

looks nice! Patina is always the big issue to tackle once you can weld and get a good pattern. I hear there are some good commercial formulas, but they are way to expensive for me to try in Alaska. I get pretty good results darkening copper with Ammonia fumes. Easy to go to long though, and it effects brass about the same as copper. Looks really good on nickel/ copper mixes.

that is a really nice looking billet for a first go at it!

nice job Wicon!

Hi, Mike. Are you here in Alaska? PM me and we can talk if you are. If so you just missed our Group Build on Gas forges, but we could help with plans for you and sourcing parts locally.

Awesome job JHCC!