Blacksmithing Forge-welding a Branch

**Thanks** Mark,And Inazumax. I had Umbellical Hernia surgery a couple weeks ago and can't do any lifting or pounding right now, But when I heal I can't wait to give it a try again. When I do I will try and place a video responce on here, So you can see how I do. Thanks again..Tom

Thats Mark,And Inazumax. I had Umbellical Hernia surgery a couple weeks ago and can't do any lifting or pounding right now, But when I heal I can't wait to give it a try again. When I do I will try and place a video responce on here, So you can see how I do. Thanks again..Tom

You can weld from a low orange and up for steel. The secret for me is the fitting of the scarf(s). I know that I want to use LIGHT blows to unite the weld. That means that the parts have to fit together pretty well going into the weld.
Cheers, Mark

I am using anhydrous Borax.
Being a British smith, I was trained to not use flux. I like to use flux on smaller bits as it lowers the welding temp of the weld - I don't destroy as many pieces that way.
Cheers, Mark

Mark, I notice that there is not a "blast" of flux flying off. Are you using any. I have a friend from Whales who said that we Americans "love to flux"

** Thanks alot, I'm looking forward to firing up the forge and giving it another try...I'll let you know how it turns out..Tom

Nice work man you have great control and skill your anvil has not 1 mark on it. I have to practice a lot more because my anvil is horrible scarred!

i do it in 2 heats...the first heat to bring it to orange...brush off any scale...then spoon on the flux (borax in my case)...then stick it in the fire for a final heat...i find it most effective to dig a little trench for the item(s) to be welded...so you can see the end of the item...you can watch it heat up to a bright yellow...then watch for green fire and sparks ;)

you can see in the fire...i use borax as flux and you can see the fire turn slightly green when its approaching welding temp...as soon as you see a couple of sparks coming out of the fire (just after it turns green) its ready for welding...whip it out and hammer it together...shouldnt take much to get them to stick if the temp's right...

I tried to forge a ring today, and it didn't take, What temp do you go up to, High yellow or White, I'm knew to this, And thanks again..

Thanks for sharing a bit of your knowledge with us, Going to add this one to my favorites..

Wonderful control and welds - you're making it look easy!

It took me forever to get consistent results! Please post more vids of your work -
Take care, Mike

I think this will be one of my favourite videos.
I've tried forge welding a few times, folding was a little succes but two pieces weld together is much more difficult...in my opinion. You can do it so easily...
Thank you, and I hope we will see more videos from you in the future.
Ákos

hy man im a college student studying forging and welding and i have to say that was the fastest fire weld i have ever seen nice one.

Nice weld!

I chisel cut the ends of the bar as a step in forming the welding scarf. The end of the scarf has to slope in order to be in a welding plane.
I could have upset the end holding my hammer at an angle to achieve the same effect, but as I was drawing the material down to create a taper to the branch I decided to use the chisel.

Nice work Mark. Why do you cut the ends off before forming your scarf?

I believe that flux degrades in the forge environment.
I get the material close to a welding temperature and then flux. By doing so the flux spends less time in the forge environment.
If, when you pull you piece(s) out from the fire after fluxing and they appear 'crusty' then the flux is gone and the weld will not take place.

Bravo, my last atempt at forge welding resulted in burned material, and some fantastic sparks, but thats it. At what point do you add flux?

thats ok, thanks anyway, mike

sorry *Flux*

I generally get mine from a local blacksmith at a forge-in. I think that the knife-makers use it a lot so you might search for knife-making supplies or look at the American Blade-smiths Society web-site.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
Mark

where do you get your fluz, i cant find any anywhere :s

Forge - Side blast coke forge - British style
Flux - Anhydrous Borax
Material - A 36 Hot rolled (various sizes)
Anvil - Sodafurs (SP?) Made in Sweden.
Cheers, Mark

good job