Subject: Re: Stainless Damascus & Forge Welding Stainless

From: "John W. Pollins, III" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 06:09:47 -0400 (EDT)

>2) what materials are used to make stainless damascus?
>
>Joe McGlynn
>
The 200 series 203E prefered.
                Pollins

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From: Peter Beky <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 19 Apr 1996 12:37:09 +1000

>1) can stainless be forge welded to itself & other steel alloys? Which ones
€Any steel can be welded to another, as an alloy is Plain Carbon Steel
with the addition of other elements to give the steel certain
mechanical characteristics.  The exception is with elements alloyed in
the metal that prevent forge welding, Copper etc.

>2) what materials are used to make stainless damascus?
€I presume that this is for a knife, & that the cutting edge would be
hardened, then a Martensitic stainless and whatever else you want.

> 1.  What exactly is the process?
€Forge welding like this is a fusion weld.  The steels form a laminate
material unlike cast steel which the elements are homogenous, evenly
distributed throughout the metal.
 
> 2.  Is any type of flux used?
€Yes. Chromium oxide forms on the outside of stainless steel in the
presence of oxygen, much the same as scale (iron oxides) forms on the
surface of mild steel, slowly at room temperature & indoors, but very
fast with heat in the fire because this increases the rate of
reaction.  Flux can do 2 things.  Firstly it excludes the atmosphere
or oxygen so that oxides cannot form, this is what the coating on
electrodes does in stick welding, sheilding gas does with Mig & Tig,
and granules with submerged arc.  Secondly it can act as a cleaning
agent to remove surface impurities, brazing flux for Plain Carbon
Steels/Stainless etc.
When forge welding Stainless I bring the peices close to welding
temperature, then remove & clean the faces to be welded quickly with a
wire brush, place the surfaces together, flux the join with a very
fine sharp sand (the sand melts & forms a slag that will exclude the
atmosphere), bring both faces to welding temperature at the same time,
then weld.

> 3.  Can this be done by hand or does it require a power hammer or press?
€The welding by hand yes, but the drawing down would be easier with a
striker or power hammer, depending on how big the peices were.

> I've talked to a couple of people who do this sort of stuff but they won't talk about it. 
Want to keep the "mysteries" all to themselves I guess.
€There are no mysteries, just a little metalurgy.  You can get these
peices of information from books, or like I did & do the trade.

Peter.

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From: Tom Vincent <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 22:14:29 -0500 (CDT)

Even they still haven't delivered my backorder, I wanted to correct what 
seems to be a reflection of my two fingered typing style. If you can get 
some through your local welding shop, try a powder welding flux called 
Hi-Alloy No. 17 (yes, 17). On the can it says its for cast iron. We've 
been welding 400 series stainless and some tool steels with it for more 
than two years. I'm being charged $8.00 for a 1 lb. can. Tom