Can 0-1 be forge-welded?

Burchtree

Burchtree

KnifeMaker & Moderator
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I was practicing some forge-welding with the newly-built forge and am having no success. I'm getting the 0-1 nice and buttery fluxey :D but it's not sticking together. So . . . I started wondering if it can be welded at all, or if I'm just doing stuff wrong.
 
I"ll let the eperts here chime in, but I know I"ve heard mention of O1 pattern welds(with L6, if memory serves, for a nie contrast), so I would believe that you can do it, seem to remember that there might be some trick to it though. Don't know if the touch of Chromium or something might make it tricky
 
I have welded it with success.....maybe your heat isnt high enough. One thing to test it is to take an old coat hanger, straighten it out, then make a little 90 degree bend in one end and touch it on the billet when it looks good and yellowish.....if the coat hanger sticks, you're ready to weld.

Also....dont hit too hard when you want it to stick together....just some firm taps.

Maybe this will help.
 
Thanks, I was kinda hoping that it wasn't user fault. :D I must not be getting it hot enough. I'm folding a long piece of 0-1 around a long railroad spike but the two ends won't stay stuck. I'll try again after leaving it in a little longer.

After tapping them together is it best to let it cool down, or it melded enough to heat up again?
 
Micheal: When I forge weld I like all the surfaces ground clean and you must bring it up to 2400 deg min.
 
XRAYED has a good point. too hard of a hit can cause a lot of slipping, then the metal cools down and just moves back and forth no chance of sticking. me and IG had a problem with some steel cable doing the same thing, just hit it nice and fast and soft and there was no problem with the welds.
 
Hey Burch, just don't overheat the steel and burn it like you did with the hair on the top of your head!

:D
 
Oh the fond memories. If it hadn't been for the support here, I still wouldn't have gotten my first weld.

George is right. Grind it clean and flux it. I doubt you are getting it hot enough. The coat hanger test works well.

Don't try for a complete weld on the first heat, just get it to stick. Sometimes it takes me four heats to complete the weld.

Oops...01 welds fine.
 
If its welding up in the middle your getting it hot enough. don't hit it to hard, tap tap tap, for the first 2-3 welding heats working from the center of the billet toward the ends, this will help squeeze any impurities out the ends. I've welded 0-1 very successfully and my forge only tops out at around 2250 -2300, with the flux looking like melted butter and dancing bubbles your good to go. Another thing Michael, don't hit it cold, a few taps and back to the heat, cold hits will cause your welds to shear until you get it welded up good and tight. Bring it up here, Leroy will fix it. :D

Bill
 
I bet leroy could fix it pretty quick. :D

I tried it again and found out that my new regulator doesn't work. The only thing controlling the flame was the needle valve. :grumpy: I didn't realize how much propane I was wasting until I looked at my {empty} propane tank with icicles on it. Oh, and the weld didn't work. I will prevail though! I'll keep trying until I figure it out. After I get a new regulator that is. :( :)


Either that, or I'll drive to Kaiser and have Leroy mash the holy hell out of it. :D
 
I have welded LOTs of O-1. O1 and L6 has been my pet mix for over 10 years. I weld at around 2200F. The higher temps (2400F.) will cause problems with many O1 varieties, from light surface crazing to complete mushing and crumbling. If hand hammering, use heavy clunking blows, not sharp raps, imagine squeezing it more than pounding it.

In thicker sections, the hotter you get it the more careful you have to be when you cool it back down. I have learned to bring it down from welding temp in normalizing steps so that it does not drop through Ar1 to Ms with welding size austenite grains- otherwise it will crack on you.
 
If you have failed attempts more than likely you will need to soak the billet in muratic acid overnight to remove the burned on scale. It will get bad scale out of every nook and cranny and give you another chance to weld. Be sure you are up to welding temp this time. I like anhydrous borax with about 5% boric acid (roach poison) for the flux. Ive never liked the way 20 mule team borax takes too long to melt and flow. Scale is probable if the flux doesnt melt before oxydation begins.
 
Originally posted by Burchtree
I'm folding a long piece of 0-1 around a long railroad spike but the two ends won't stay stuck.
Click to expand...

It's gotta be a good tight flat fitup to weld, least it helps a bunch. :)

Ya makeing a hachet or a knife??
 
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