Vent: Finally figured out why my forge welds kept failing after 6 months of frustration

I was at a hammer-in last month in Ohio, and an old smith watched me try to weld a stack of three bars. He just shook his head and said 'your flux is burning off before the steel even gets to temp.' Turns out I was heating the flux too soon and it was all gone by the time the metal was ready. He showed me to let the bars heat up a little first, then sprinkle the flux on right before the welding heat. First try after that stuck like glue. I'd been blaming my hammer technique or my coal quality for months. Has anyone else had a simple fix like this that made you feel dumb after?

3 comments

3 Comments

ruby_bell474h ago

And that's the thing about forge welding, the temp window is so narrow that tiny things like flux timing make or break it. I started keeping my flux in a little can right on the anvil so it's always handy the second the steel looks right.

victorhernandez2h ago

Damn that's a good point. I watched this old timer on YouTube once who said the same thing about flux being right next to your hand. He actually kept his in a little steel cup bolted to the anvil stand so he could dip the rod without even looking. Seemed like overkill until I tried forge welding myself and realized how fast that orange glow fades. Now I keep mine in a cut down soup can clamped to the vise.

laura_wilson1h ago

You ever see those guys who build a little flux trough into the side of their forge? I watched a video where a guy had a small metal tray welded right to the forge door so he could dip the rod without moving his hand more than a few inches. It looked ridiculous, but after missing the temp window twice in one afternoon I started to get why people go that far.