odd question

D

Dan Zawacki

Joined
Sep 23, 2006
Messages
366
I have a bit of an odd one. May be dangerous, but, having not done any welding yet, I wouldn't be in a position to know...

How does borax behave itself at middle to high temperatures? By which I mean 1450 - 1600 degrees F.

I must assume that at those tempreatures it has long since melted. Is it very caustic? very instable?

The reason I am asking is it has occured to me that it may be a viable replacement for highly volatile nitrate salts for the high temp tank on some of the common tool steels we use. O1, L6, W2, 10XX etc.

My major concerns are centered around how stable and or caustic it would prove to be. If it'll eat its way out of a stainless tank more readily than salts, or if it's not an improvement on the stability of the nitrate salts, then it really wouldn't be worthwhile.

Also, I can't imagine it'd be good for the quenchant...
 
I believe you may find the problem of cleaning your blade up afterwards will be the stumbling block to any further use.

Craig
 
Craig has a good point. Take a blade, heat it, coat it in borax, and the let it cool. I've done it in an attempt to avoid scale on a blade during HT and I can tell you it's a pain to clean up.

-d
 
As a general rule, any product for a highly technical procedure ( like salt pots) has been thoroughly tested and researched by professional experts. Companies like Heatbath and others employ PHD's to find the best salts for the job. If Borax would work ( it won't BTW) it would be on the list of available salts.
All that aside, It is a good thing that you are thinking outside the box. For your information, Borax gets highly corrosive to steel at temperatures above 1600F.
Stacy
 
Dan,
the high temp salts are NaCl or sodium chloride aka common table salt. It is only the low temp salts that are the nitre salts.
Del
 
borax is commonly use as flux for forge welds. if you use it for this purpose, be sure to use a proper apron. you will get a molten splash like glass. it works well but be sure to use safty precations. the splash can easily reach a 5' radius
 
I understand the uses of borax as a flux, and how it splashes. This was really why I asked about how corrosive / caustic it would be, as I'd rather avoid having it eat through the tank and spill all over the place at 1600 degrees!

The cleaning problem is one I hadn't anticipated.

Overall, it looks to probably be more trouble than its worth.
 
PLenty of ventilation is called for when using Borax. It stayes suspended in the air quite long enough for you to get your lungs full and is a real irritant.

Fred
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top