Hi all. I have been trying to work on my meager forge welding skills. I have little trouble forge welding billets of pattern steel in my small propane forge. But I have great trouble welding small diameter stuff in it like welding leaves onto the stem of roses. Advice will be greatly appreciated. jamie
I have had little to no luck forge welding small items in a propane forge. The strength of a gas forge seems to me to be in heating large areas evenly. This may be one of those times where you should resort to an oxy-acet torch or coal heat in a forge, if you want to save yourself some grief.
Cheers Trevor Jones
If you quench the item immediately after the weld the flux, if it is borax, will shatter and fall off.
As to torch welding...try a "Henrob 2000" torch for the welding. I think you will be impressed...FAR superior to any regular non laminar flow torch, and they are not very expensive, $300-$350 depending on the source.
Ron
Do you have a pyrometer? Some gas forges don't get all that hot and most have hot and cool spots to contend with. I've seen some that won't get beyond 2000 degrees F.
----Particularly those that use castable refractory.
As far as flux removal goes: What kind of flux are you using? Some fluxes have iron filings in them and they ARE harder to cleanup.
Pete Stanaitis
james pelzer wrote:
If you can weld big stuff, you should have no problem with small stuff. Is it possible you are letting the metal start to cool before getting your pieces aligned and ready to weld? It is easy to do with smal stuff.
Also, when welding pattern welded billets, are you welding high carbon and for your leaves, low carbon? Low carbon is more difficult to weld especially if it is small and cools fast.
Bob
Hmmm, low carbon is more difficult? I have never thought so. Wrought iron is about as low carbon as you can get, and it welds like pushing two pieces of clay together, don't even need flux, will self flux. I guess it all depends on what you weld a lot of. I have always taken a lot more care with high carbon/low carbon welds than just mild steel or wrought iron welds. The high carbon will burn much more easily.
Ron
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