SoCal Dave

Great stuff guys. Keep it coming.

DSW - I did feel the tig was more of what you described, more of a brazing.

It's been some time since I last posted about my bronze hummingbird project. I have a photo of the final version. The beak and the wings were tig welded. I had the welder set at 100 amps, and after running some test pieces, I found out that Bruce, and others were right. Get in and out quickly. After adding some rod, I was able to blend it to the body. The difficult part was the wings were thin and the body thick. It didn't take much for a previous weld to melt when heating the body up for the next weld. Quick in and out still was key. After talking to Dorothy Stiegler, who was very helpful and supportive, I used some 120 grit sandpaper, and Johnson paste wax to protect it.

I have used Metal Devil carbide tip saws for some time. I use them only when I want to make precise cuts, like a 45 degree cut and it's without burrs. They make one for aluminum that is good also. For all the rest where exact cuts are not necessary and can be cleaned up with a sander/grinder I use the composite blades. Much cheaper. Carbide tip blades have their place for me.

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is Flourspar and sal amonniac? Where do I get these two products?

I had to laugh when I saw the picture with the glove. It's missing one finger tip and I thought maybe you were testing the sharpness of the knife. Nice work.

If you can't do any drilling, you might think of industrial glue. I can't make any recommendations on what type, but, I know they have some unbelievably strong glues that might be the cats meow for your dilemma. Of course, you would have to run some test pieces to confirm the glue's strength and to withstand the forces placed on it. Good luck

Good luck in whatever you do. I clearly understand you have made up your mind. I would suggest keeping the forge if you have room because you never know in a future non-blacksmithing project when you might need to heat something up and that old forge you threw away would have been perfect for the job. You never know what lies ahead. Again, Good luck.

A starting place in your search might be Little Giant. I believe Sid and his daughter may still be around. Give them a call and maybe they know something about this issue.

Where are you located? When I look up Cajun Shop there are many internet sites with Cajun in their names.

I must be odd, because I don't listen to music while I'm forging or just in my shop. I like the silence and I like to hear the sounds of my shop. Maybe, that's the music I listen to. The sounds of me working. Once in awhile, I notice I haven't turned off one of my machines, because I can hear it through the silence.

Home Depot type store, Farm Supply, U-haul, RV Dealer, Propane tank supplier.

Please excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is a jump weld?

Sam: I can't find my camera and I don't own a phone with a camera. But, I will try to locate it and post them asap.

Being outside is the bugger. For the outside, I believe you need to clear coat the final finished look. If you want to paint it a color, I use automotive primer and paint. I clean it with a two solution process for automobiles to remove the oils, and then primer and paint and maybe clear coat. As you can see, powder coating can be easier for you. Automobile primer and paint are not cheap either. If you go the patina, wax covering, you will have to reapply the wax a few times a year and that will not stop it from rusting. Good luck.

Thanks Matt. I do have a foot pedal. I will try tomorrow but will probably start at the low amp settings. Do you move forward like welding mild steel. I want to blend in the wings to the body and I plan on doing some light hammering to give it some texture after welding. I imagine this would be acceptable. Oh yes, I have silicone bronze.

Very nice. I like the roundness or curve of it's features. It make it look more natural. I take it that was your goal.

First, one or two burner forge. You stated it was new. Who made the forge? A few pictures of your forge would help. As JMC indicated, it could be a few things that cause you to not reach welding heat. Have you been successful in other gas forges welding or pattern welding? I think it is difficult to forge or pattern weld in a gas forge without a blower. Are you able to measure the temp of your forge after 20 min. of heating? That might tell you a lot. Last, you might be able to pump up your temp by coating the inside of your forge with ITC100 or something similar. Good luck.

It is 100 degree + here and the shop has a metal roof. I couldn't see turning on the forge and heating the shop up even more, so the practice will have to wait a few days. I will send pics when I'm done.

Thanks everyone. I will try some practice tomorrow. I do have some silicone bronze rod. I do have a pulse setting on my tig welder. Any suggestions on DC or AC. I've read that some use DC and others AC. Thanks

I've been working on a bronze hummingbird. I will tig weld the wings on but have never welded bronze. What setting for the amps, I was thinking around 60 to 100, and on DC power. Move quick, slow, pour on the heat from the beginning or build slow or keep the power low? The wings are 1/8" thick to 1/16". Not much welding area to attach to the body. I was thinking it would be almost like a tac weld. Any suggestions?

I take it welding it back into place isn't an option? Do any other farmers have stock to use and what do they use to replace their broken equipment? I agree with the spring steal option. Good luck

I found doing a Brian Brazeal horse head on a horseshoe works well. You use a few tools and you can get an unlimited number of rusty used horseshoes from farriers.

There is something to be said about the light in your shop. The old blacksmith's have minimal light which may give a truer color for the naked eye. I have learned to turn out the lights in my shop, during the day, and close the doors, if I need to be sensitive to the color changes in the metal I'm working. I really noticed this when working with bronze. I know there are lots of different types of light bulbs made today and they will change how you see colors.

I really like it when someone takes an idea and take it another step or combines two things that were not together before. Great!