steponmebbbboom Posted April 5, 2008 Posted April 5, 2008 i have caught wind of a story that any traces of copper in a fire will make forge welding difficult if not impossible. is there any truth to this? Or can copper and iron be forged in the same fire without problems? Quote
ThomasPowers Posted April 7, 2008 Posted April 7, 2008 The big problem is that copper can merge into the steal causing intergrannular failure of the metal. This is a problem at higher heats. Quote
Rich Hale Posted April 7, 2008 Posted April 7, 2008 Every student at the horseshoing school was taught to do a copper brazing project,,in the same coal forge that had been used for thirty years, and the same forges were used for forge welding. Not a Problem. Quote
pete46 Posted April 7, 2008 Posted April 7, 2008 I Have Heard Of Using A Penny To Forge Weld With! I Plan To Try It!!!! Quote
matt87 Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 That's not technically welding, it's brazing with copper. (Pennies are no longer made of copper.) Quote
ThomasPowers Posted April 8, 2008 Posted April 8, 2008 US pennies are copper coated zinc since around 1984; older ones are mainly copper but not pure copper. I do not know about Canadian, UK, HongKong, Australian, etc pennies The zinc ones make nice item to juice up a brass pour that has been burning off it's zinc right before a pour though. Quote
steponmebbbboom Posted April 8, 2008 Author Posted April 8, 2008 dont let the feds see this thread, theyll be hauling all you penny vandals in! Quote
Walking Dog Posted April 9, 2008 Posted April 9, 2008 Copper electrical wire is a good source of material for forge brazing - it works well for me, both with the torch and in the forge. I also forge weld in the same forge. Flux with borax. Quote
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