Subject: forge welding

From: Raymon Baker <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 14:08:00 -0700 (PDT)

Larry Zoeller:
To forge weld is the subject of many books. I read one that helped me make
more of my welds stick. It is called "How to Forge Weld at a Blacksmith's
Anvil for Those Who Have Diligently Tried and Failed." It was written by
Robert M. Heath (5139 Sunnyvale Drive; Jackson, MS 39211) Published by
Valleyview Forge; Canton, MS in 1995.

I don't remember where I got it - Lindsay Publications or Norman A. Larson I
suppose.

To VERY briefly take a stab at some of what you ask: colors - light yellow,
almost white, it would burn if it were down in the oxidizing layer of the
fire. (I have layers because I burn coal.) The iron is protected from scale
by the flux, 20 Mule Team Borax (laundry section of the supermarket), not to
be confused with Boraxo which contains a lot of unwanted stuff. Take the
steel up to the point where the surface looks wet - it is. Wet with liquid
steel. The two pieces need to be the same temperature. Tap them on the anvil
after you bring them out of the fire to get rid of most of the stuff that
will fly when you hit it, put the pieces together and hit lightly at first
to fuse them together. Theese steps are done quickly. THEN you can hit hard
to forge them to size. Heat partially, flux on the rising temperature, and
then take up to welding heat. If you start to see sparks, it is starting to
burn! Get it out and start hitting. 

Practice, practice, practice. I started by bending a bar back on itself
after feathering out the end, it kept the two pieces together to attain
similar temperature and avoided the need for three hands. Later, you can go
to separate pieces.

Also, on the subject of nail headers, I don't harden and temper. The hot
nail is going to take the temper out anyway. Further, you aren't going to
pound on the nail, 3 to 4 stokes to form the head is all. The header that I
sent you has sufficient shoulder to handle the chore without the extra
steps. I don't put a handle on, either.  Probably because the half-inch
round bar is easy enough to hold and secondly, I forge at rendezvous and old
techniques are all that goes. But they work and that is the name of the game.

Good forging.

Ray

---

From: Raymond Coon <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 17:41:42 -0700

Raymon Baker wrote:
> almost white, it would burn if it were down in the oxidizechniques are all that goes. But they work and that is the name of the game.
> 
> Good forging.
> 
> Ray

You should also know that you can contaminate your forge with certain metals.  
Copper and Zinc are two that I know of.  These metals will make it impossible to get 
a forge weld to work.  Be careful about what you stick in your forge or else you 
will be doing a complete re-line and cleaning all of your tools.  I'm not sure just 
what the metals do but I would guess that once in the hot forge they volitalize 
(sp?)and permeate the forge and then condense on your iron (which is relatively 
cool).  This would leave a trace amount on the surface of the iron and prevent the 
weld.  That's my WAG.

Ray Coon