Making Rings,

[Tom Lumpkins]

Today I guess I'm going to try my luck at making rings, I tried before and didn't have any luck getting the metal to forge together, So We'll give it another try and see what happens. going to try and make them outta 3/8s Rod..

[Sabre]

well good luck and show them to us when your done!!

[ThomasPowers]

One trick to help in the forge weld is to overlap the ends and bend them so one sticks out higher than the other and then reverse them so the overlap is held together by the spring of the metal.

Of course in a 100+ year old book on smithing they do mention riviting the over lap together before sticking it in the fire to forge weld so you don't have to mess with it shifting on you when you are trying to make the weld.

I'd go with a hearty overlap and expect to forge it down to final size---how exact do these rings need to be?

[maddog]

This is how I learned to weld rings from Frank Turley. Forget about round until it's welded. Scarf the ends at an angle. Bend into a U. Bend the arms of the U at 45 deg so the scarfs overlap properly (this is why the scarfs are angled). Flux heat and weld on the face of the anvil. Clean up the weld on the horn. Then work the welded piece into a ring and true up on a cone if you have one.

[Dutchmancreek]

I agree with maddog. Weld the ends and then make it round. Shape it however you need to to get the ends together to weld. (It's the same way I was taught to make silver rings...get the ends soldered together then put the "ring" on a mandrel and shape it.)

If the rings are small, I have a small "anvil" block right on the forge to make welds before heat is lost. Small parts can cool quicker than you can step over to the main anvil.

Steve

[Tom Lumpkins]

Thanks for all the great advice, I got one done today, But it was so darn hot , I said the heck with it and came in and got under the AC, I'll be back out there in the morning, I'm going to give Maddogs method a try,,Thanks Tom

[Glenn]

There are two locations on the link for the weld, one being the half circle at the top and the other being the long section on the side. Try both.

Another way to practice the welds is to make the scarfs on the end of a long piece of stock, say 24-30 inches. Then bend it in the center to link up the scarfs for the forge weld. Make the weld, forming a 12-15 inch link. This is practice only and gives you a handle on the weld (pun intended). Then cut the stock to remove the welded section and make two more scarfs and weld it up again. The idea is practice first and get good at one part of the process at a time.

[Tom Lumpkins]

This is how I learned to weld rings from Frank Turley. Forget about round until it's welded. Scarf the ends at an angle. Bend into a U. Bend the arms of the U at 45 deg so the scarfs overlap properly (this is why the scarfs are angled). Flux heat and weld on the face of the anvil. Clean up the weld on the horn. Then work the welded piece into a ring and true up on a cone if you have one.

Well I finaly got one to take, I followed mad dogs advice and it worked out, The last time I tried I thought one had took ,But it didn't. Thanks for all of your help,
I took a few pic's , it ain't perfect, But it's forge welded together.


Forge welding rings. - Blacksmith Photo Gallery

[racer3j]

This is going to sound critical, especially from a rookie like me. Did you test the forgeweld? I only ask because the pictures show a partial weld- perhaps just the high spots on the scarf actually melded. Explain please, if I am being too critical. I need to learn how to do it.mike