Furnace1 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I don't know if this is much of a problem for others but when I'm heating whatever steel is in my forge and it starts to scale when I have it at about orange color and after I've cleaned it off with my wire brush and hammered into the shape. I have this transitional area between the part of the steel that was heated and forged and the part that was not. It sort of looks like an old paint job that somebody scraped the loose stuff off and repainted over it. I guess I just don't care for the look and I'm thinking the only way to get rid of it would be to heat the whole piece to that temp and then the surface would be all the same? Thanks for any help, Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Welcome aboard Scott, glad to have ya. What kind of forge are you using? Is it scaling up in the forge or after you pull it out? If it's really critical keep it coated in flux. If you'll click "User CP" at the top of the page and edit your profile to show your location it'll really help. IFI is represented by members from more than 50 countries and some info is location specific. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
divermike Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 probably a gas forge, it happens to me the same way, coal does not have the same problems for some reason, at least where I forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveh Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 hey Scott,when I noticed that on things I did and do the same thing you suggested and heat the whole piece,so it gets rid of the transition mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 If you want it to look forged you need to forge the entire surface, (a traditional method was to make you starting stock from the opposite type: eg forge round stock to get square and square to get round). If you want it to look un-forged then you need to finish the surface with file, grinder, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Welcome aboard Scott, glad to have ya. What kind of forge are you using? Is it scaling up in the forge or after you pull it out? If it's really critical keep it coated in flux. If you'll click "User CP" at the top of the page and edit your profile to show your location it'll really help. IFI is represented by members from more than 50 countries and some info is location specific. Frosty Thanks Frosty for the welcome. I'll fill in my info after writing this. I'm using a gas forge that I made from fire brick, nothing fancy but it works. When it's good and hot the iron is scaling up inside the forge. I guess I'm not following you on the flux, I'm not welding but will the flux clean off the transition area if I cover all of it thats in the forge? Thanks again Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 probably a gas forge, it happens to me the same way, coal does not have the same problems for some reason, at least where I forge. Thanks for the input Divermike, It's a gas forge but I didn't know coal would not cause this problem. An old blacksmith friend of mine says that gas just does not heat the metal the same way as gas would......that's why he only burns coal. I don't have a coal forge set up yet, when the weather warms up maybe. Thanks again Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 probably a gas forge, it happens to me the same way, coal does not have the same problems for some reason, at least where I forge.hey Scott,when I noticed that on things I did and do the same thing you suggested and heat the whole piece,so it gets rid of the transition mark. Thanks Steveh and Thomaspowers for the input. I think that heating the whole piece and forging the entire thing would wind up making it all look better. I did notice on my steel that I just picked up yesterday that there seems to be a film or coating of some kind on the surface. After heat is applied it becomes more noticeable but just on the 1/2" square stock, that's what I see at the transition area that looks like scale. I don't know, am I seeing things here:rolleyes: Thanks again Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Depending on the type of burner you have you may be able to adjust it to be less scaling. A good burner will be adjustble until you get little or no scaling in the forge as it will have a reducing atmosphere---MASSIVE VENTILATION REQUIRED---as reducing means Carbon Monoxide is present. As I make some knives I can tune my forge reducing and have 2 10'x10' roller doors along the daily wind route in my shop so I don't worry about the CO much. But you seem to not have told us about your burner; perhaps *another* posting giving the necessary data for us to help you would be appropriate. Don't make us come up there with the hot tongs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 another thing that can possably help is a tumbler .... thats what i use to remove scale from a lot of the items i make... think of a rock tumbler on steroids and filled with metal punchings and small scrap instead of grit... 1/2 hr of tumbling and all the sharp edges are cleaned and scale removed... leaves a sort of gunmetal grey finish .. i clearcoat and sellit! have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Your burner is running lean, you can choke it slightly till it doesn't scale. However as Thomas says CO production is dangerous have good ventilation. Flux does two things basically: First and this is what you need, it keeps the oxy from the steel so it won't scale up. Second it melts into a viscous fluid and when you drive the pieces together the molten flux squirts out mechanically cleaning scale and contaminants from the joint. The bad thing about forging with flux on your work is the spatter, the stuff is going to get on EVERYTHING and what's worse it's HOT. You'll need long sleeves and leather, full face shield, cap, gloves and boots. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 DaB, I've been saving all the little hot cuttoffs, screws, etc that turn up around the shop to use in the tumbler I hope to build once I get power to my welder. The more different the piece are the more they will clean up odd shaped items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnW Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I don't hear anybody saying this, but everybody knows, hot steel + oxygen = scale. You can take the hot steel out of the forge, wire brush it clean, and it already starts forming more scale, because it's hot. By the way, I believe the purpose of flux, when welding, is to protect the steel from oxygen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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