Forge weld flux

[CrazyGoatLady]

I got popped on my upper eyelid with a piece of scale, but no scar

[jlpservicesinc]

Never scale ever. Only old welding flux..  Of course, now I probably jinxed myself.  Knock on fake wood. 

[Chris C]

I received my last component for the Steel Glue flux in the mail today.  So "splain" me.....................there are 4 different materials in this flux.  Luckily all of them are powdered.  But what is the best way to make sure they are thoroughly mixed?  I've thought about cleaning the stainless steel pins out of my brass case tumbler and making sure it's absolutely dry and making a batch small enough to fit in it and tumble the material for two or three hours.  I'm calling a half cup as one part.  So when the entire batch is mixed it's going to be 4 cups plus two tablespoons.  Ought to fit nicely in my tumbler.  Any thoughts on the subject?

[Steve Sells]

most beginning forge welders use simple steels that only need simple borax, I still have not figured out why you are making this so complicated?

[Chris C]

I make everything complicated, Steve....................just my nature.

[jlpservicesinc]

here is a photo of a chunk of the welded wrought iron with rust adhered. There were many more but this one was easy to find after the trailer clean up before the last demo. 

I'll have to document this via video next time I do it.  I have more of that very same rusty material so maybe next time. 

Chris.  

Forge welding is a very simple act or skill set. it is way over played as difficult.   In 43 years I have never ground down a billet I am welding to another billet. As long as the steel is clean and it is prepared properly while still forging it will go together with little fanfare. 

The pieces will stick together as soon as touched.  the hammer is just to seal the deal so to speak. 

After all this maybe I can ply you to send me a sample.  I would be "Curious" myself to see if there really is a difference.  

 

[Frosty]

On 8/15/2019 at 2:59 PM, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

A good read for those interested. The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths.

https://blacksmithscompany.co.uk/history/

Good read, thank you!

Frosty The Lucky.

2 hours ago, Steve Sells said:

most beginning forge welders use simple steels that only need simple borax, I still have not figured out why you are making this so complicated?

Chris is OCD ADHD too Steve. Remember telling us,  you have to get everything perfect just not for long?  I know I'm paraphrasing you but I knew why we had so much in common.  

Frosty The Lucky.

[Les L]

Chris,  I would just put it in a sealed container stir it around then and shake and tumble it by hand a few minutes. It shouldn't take much to mix evenly.

Jennifer, I know what you mean about welding flux popping off and sticking to you. It's amazing how it can find the smallest space in your PPE to get to your skin, one reason I always wear ear plugs while welding.

[jlpservicesinc]

Les crazy isn't it.  Each and every time it seems. 

[BillyBones]

Flux, with out fail, always finds a spot between the webbing of my right hand and my hammer handle. 

[JHCC]

Yup. 

[jlpservicesinc]

7 hours ago, BillyBones said:

Flux, with out fail, always finds a spot between the webbing of my right hand and my hammer handle. 

Years back I had enough callus and was forging enough that heat, sparks, flux, etc didn't even phase me.  I remember one time when I was at the forge and one of my buddies came over to see me make something and I had forged welded something and it took like 5 heats so the flux was really oxidized on the metal, thick coating.  I pull it out and whack a chunk flew off and fell between my hammer handle and hand at yellow heat..  I kept working as the acrid smoke from burning flesh rose to this guys nose.   he practically hurled right there on the spot.  

He stammered and recovered after a minute or 2 , asking me if it hurt.  when I showed him the burnt in piece of welding flux which was about 1/8" thick, he never made fun of me again.  I really didn't even feel it but it was one of those priceless moments..  

When the guy introduced me to some of his buddies it was part of my introduction..  This is so and so whom I mentioned that was one tough  (fill in blank)..  Was priceless.   

[Glenn]

one tough  (fill in blank)  = Lady

[anvil]

There's an old saying. You can tell an experienced Smith from the rest because when that forge welding flux lands on your hand, the experienced Smith finishes the weld.

[ThomasPowers]

Like the time I was welding at an SCA demo and my tunic started to smolder; some of the crowd started to comment and  point and I replied "I know I'm on fire just let me finish this (durn) weld!"   Tunic was soaked with sweat and so barely a smolder and I made the weld!

[Daniel David]

On 12/13/2007 at 6:48 PM, ThomasPowers said:

James Hrisoulas once posted this flux recipe:

"Flux mix is as follows:

5 parts anhydrous borax
2 parts powdered boric acid
1 part powdered iron oxide (the real STUFF NOT the concrete dyes)
1/2 part Fluorspar  (very toxic)
1/4 part sal ammoniac

This stuff sticks most anything together"

Hello together
sorry for digging up this old post.
I have a quick question about the flux recipe.
Are the quantities given in weight or volume fractions ?
Is it possible to weld steels with Cr content > 12% with this flux ?

Thanks a lot
Best regards
Daniel David

[CRCustoms]

Flux isn’t required for a good forge weld if the materials to be welded are clean. The problem begins when forge scale forms and must be removed or you will end up with either cold shuts, inclusions or a weld that doesn’t take. Any of which reduce your efforts to scrap metal. The wetting process is primarily what removes the scale and allows for good welds. There’s no substitute for experience in this endeavor.

[ThomasPowers]

Of course for some alloys being "clean" really requires cleaning and welding in a vacuum---or use of a very active flux.

[jlpservicesinc]

17 hours ago, CRCustoms said:

Flux isn’t required for a good forge weld if the materials to be welded are clean. The problem begins when forge scale forms and must be removed or you will end up with either cold shuts, inclusions or a weld that doesn’t take. Any of which reduce your efforts to scrap metal. The wetting process is primarily what removes the scale and allows for good welds. There’s no substitute for experience in this endeavor.

If you watch any of the videos.. I don't ever clean off the metal down to bare steel.. 

I just forge away and when it's time for welding, scarf and weld..  I will if there is a chunk of oxidized welding flux scrape that off if I am not forging it more to dimension. 

Forging flux and scale come off with dimensional changes.. 

So, much of a good weld has to do with a good appropriate scarf for the weld at hand. 

[anvil]

Like Jen said, setup and skill are far more important than to flux or not. If you are competent both ways you can actually make a choice. You will find that when fluxing you can forge weld at a lower temp. This saves wear and tear on your iron and let's you get her done a bit quicker. It also makes those delicate welds like a leaf to a stem or a light piece to a heavier piece less likely to burn

[ThomasPowers]

When welding higher carbon content steels the lower temp welding with flux is a big help as the temp to melt scale is much closer to burning temp for HC!

[anvil]

When you have a hundred or so forgewelds to do like this,,, it's a godsend!

[Frazer]

On 8/23/2015 at 9:08 PM, teenylittlemetalguy said:

Alaska flux

Well, I'm sold. For the sake of experimentation I made some Alaska flux to try. I cut a couple pieces off a coil spring and tried to "drop the tongs" weld them back together. After two control attempts using semi-hydrous borax (baked in the oven) and boric acid I wasn't able to get them to stick. Then I tried Tristan's Alaska flux where the only addition was finely powdered charcoal dust and it stuck the first time.. It could be dumb luck I suppose, but I've always struggled getting spring steel to weld to itself.

Until I play around with it a little more I don't know if I'll switch over entirely (borax off the shelf has gotten me this far). Still, I will admit that I was impressed by how well it seemed to work for me.

Thanks Tristan.