As it's cold, very cold outside, so I'm not doing much forging (my smithy is under a maple tree in my back yard), but that doesn't stop me from thinking about things.

I've not yet done forge welding with my little propane forge. I'm wondering if I can it get hot enough. I'm using a z-burner from Zoeller forge and the forge is built from insulating (soft) firebrick.

What ceramic cone best corresponds to forge welding temperature if I'm trying to weld A-36 steel?

Thanks in advance,

J

If you want to know if it gets hot enough to forge weld, instead of putting cones in it, why not put some steel in it and see?

Cones measure heat work, not just temperature. They're meant to be heated very slowly, by blacksmith standards. Heating at the rates encountered in a forge will mess with the results in ways I couldn't begin to predict. The charts don't address heating rates of tens of thousands of degrees per hour.

Grant is absolutely right: a much easier way to answer your question would simple be to try to weld with the thing!

Well in general you want about 2300 degF, though you can pretty much forge weld at any temperature depending on cleanliness and pressure---galling of metal surfaces and vacuum welding are "solid phase welding processes" as is explosive welding.