Forge welding

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Hello all. I was trying my hand at forge welding with some 1/4" mild steel rod. While it was hard to keep the heat in it, I would occasionally get a "pop" like someone popped a cap gun. What is this? Is it good or bad? I was using borax for flux. I also tried doubling some 5/16 spring steel. After I figured it was good, I quenched in water and broke it open to see how it went. I did not get anything welded anywhere. I am wondering if I need to get my forge to run hotter. The thicker metal took a while to come up past orange, then I would yank it out. :rolleyes:Maybe I should turn up the heat and let it come up to a yellow?:confused: Tell me what you think. Mostly I was just playing, and learning how it all works. Any tips, or things to try? Thanks.
 
Forge welding is done at yellow heat - around 2200F to 2400F. Orange is too cool. You should see the borax bubbling and flowing like water when it is at weld heat. The little sparks shooting off the steel tell you it is just a little too hot. If you stick a coat hanger in the forge and touch the steel it will stick if the steel is at temperature. If it doesn't stick, neither will the steel being welded.
Stacy
 
You can get good welds using a hand held hammer if the steel is at the rite heat. It does not take a press.
Anhydrous borax makes for easier welding than using the stuff from the detergent isle. Because it contains little water, it does not boil away, it flows along the steel surface instead.

Stay at it, it takes a while to get the hang of it.:thumbup:

Fred
 
Mild steel is harder to weld than high carbon steel, try using 1084.

I wait until the borax is bubbling on the surface of the steel before I weld. The steel needs to soak for a while so the entire piece is at welding temperatures not just the outside.

Turn up the heat, my large welding forge runs at only 1.5-2psi and produces plenty of heat. Having a proper air to propane mixture will increase your temperature also.
 
Thanks. I guess I will have to get some more heat pushing through. I was running the fuel a little light because it was about 25F outside and I didn't want the bottle freezing up prematurely. I think the round rod got welded up OK, but it came up to temp much faster than the 5/16 stuff. I will keep at it. Thanks for the tips. I am anxious to hear anything else. I am also wondering what the "pop" is.
 
The pop could be a couple of things. Was your anvil wet? If so the water vaporizing causing rapid expansion of steam or a minor explosion. Or it was the flux essentially doing the same thing. Not bad unless you have neighbors close by and they think you are shooting or something.
 
In my experience its harder to weld a mild steel to itself at the same temperature as a high carbon steel. It can weld just fine but for starting welding its not the steel I would suggest using. I know I could have saved a lot of frustration if I used a high carbon steel for when I started welding.
 
I've welded wrought (actually my first really successful forgewelds are in a bar of wrought that I worked down from a bloom under the supervision of Michael McCarthy) and yes lowering the carbon makes it so you have to work hotter, but steel really wants to stick to itself, you really just have to let it know it's ok to do it in public, and that takes heat and surface cleaning

-Page
 
Sam Salvati said:
Oh man welding wrought is like playing with clay, it practically welds itself!
Click to expand...
not when it's still a bloom :D

I had to work it down into wrought before I had wrought, and what I wrought was iron!
You'll see
just wait
I could use you on second hammer consolidating my next bloom! You can even take some of it home and love it and forge it and call it george!:p

-Page
 
From the sound of it you're trying to weld small rods...this will cause you pain. It is really quite difficult to keep heat in 1/4" round or square. I'd really recommend some 1/4"x1" bar to play with. It will hold heat a little better and be easier to work with. Also, make sure you do your surface prep properly. Grind off any and all scale on the steel before you start, and make sure you flux at a dull red heat to avoid any scaling before you go to weld. Scale is the enemy of a good forge weld!

-d
 
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