Damascus and Mill Scale

D

Dennis Paish

Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
302
Greetings,
Before you start building the billet, is it recommended to grind off the mill scale on the 1080 and 15N20? What about the occasional rust blemishes also?

Thanks in advice for your replies.

Dennis
 
1080 is fine as is and yes get all the rust off.
 
I take the time to grind all surfaces clean, before the initial weld. This includes rust, mill scale, etc... Why take a chance on welding flaws?
 
I'm with Danbo on this one. There are enough things that can go wrong in pattern welding, why wouldn't you want to control as many variables as possible? Scale can be the enemy of a good weld. Sure, Borax at temperature will dissolve mill scale...to an extent. If one little tiny spot in the middle of something DOESN'T dissolve, rest assured that will be the spot that shows up as you hand sand. IMHO grabbing an angle grinder and cleaning off mill scale is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your welds. 15n20 shouldn't have any scale and can be stacked right up (though I usually wipe the surface clean with a rag). Rust isn't that big an issue unless it's heavily pitted, etc.

-d
 
Soaking the steel in vinegar overnight will also disolve most of the scale and save on belts if you use a belt grinder to clean it off. I use an angle grinder as little as possible because of the noise, grinder dust, sparks starting fires ect.
 
JMJones said:
Soaking the steel in vinegar overnight will also disolve most of the scale and save on belts if you use a belt grinder to clean it off. I use an angle grinder as little as possible because of the noise, grinder dust, sparks starting fires ect.
Click to expand...

That's what Scotch-Brite Roloc discs are for.
 
Take the advise of someone who has done it both ways !! use the Vinegar!!!
i wont say who told me this but they are "Mastersmith" rated.. i tried it holly cow!!!! works great for removing the "Forging Scale" too
 
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