saintjohnbarleycorn Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I see some people use mig to "forge weld" if you do that do you still make a scarf? THE reason I am asking is I did some forge welding yesterday and it takes a whole lot of coke to heat to that heat, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 please explain. do oy mean use the mig to hold the pc's in place for forge welding ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianbrazealblacksmith Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 It depends on what you are doing. If you are welding up billets for pattern welding, then no you do not need to scarf, and the layers can simply be tacked to hold them together until they are forge welded. If you are welding scrolls, branches, or say tong reins, then yes you do need to scarf so you have extra material where you are forge welding the pieces together. The hammering required to make a weld would reduce your cross section of the pieces you're joining and make the area at the base of your weld smaller and thus the weakest link in your piece. No mig welding is required for this but it can be employed to hold several pieces together. There have been many threads on this Forum that illustrate different methods of doing this. I don't know how to direct you to those threads, but I'm sure someone does. Mark Aspery has done many excellent threads on this very topic. I've also posted a few with nontraditional scarfs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I make normal scarfs and then tack on one side with the MIG to hold the pieces together. I can then heat, flux and weld normally without having to worry about chasing that loose piece around the anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I do what Hollis does. In addition if I'm welding a billet I'll perimeter weld leaving a very small gap on the side facing away from me and right after finishing the bead(s) I put one or two drops of 3in1 oil in the gap(s). The oil acts as a flux and the billet welds very easily at a pretty low temp, I've had success at med orange but have known guys who have steady success at med red. In preparation I grind the layers very clean and nearly polished, 200# or better. I heard about it, doubted it but it was really easy to test so I did. I don't do many billets but I was really surprised at how well it works, especially if you do it at normal welding temps. So yes, mig welds come in really handy when forge welding. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 thanks for the info. I will look up the scarf joints also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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