fordge weld

[sir henry]

I need a cheap sorce of borax and had some people tell me to use 20 mule team boratean soap but can'nt find it anywhere any other Idias, new to the fordge and want to try to weld any help would be appreciated. ::

 

[Stumpkiller]

Check the taxidermist supply houses (or with taxidermists) in your yellow pages.

 

[No Deer]

Meijers has it in the laundry soap section, or did. I got a box of it a couple of years ago to dry out my Turkey fan for mounting.

 

[sir henry]

Thanks Nodeer but no cigar atleast here in GR still lookin :curse: :cry:

 

[No Deer]

I will take a look here this weekend.

 

Just go to most any grocery store and get 20 Mule Team Borax - not Borateem or Boraxo or any of the other soap mixes - plain old washing borax is what you want. A box is about 5 pounds and lasts forever. Some folks roast it in the stove to drive off the moisture - this is called anhydrous borax. You can also add boric acid, which is what a lot of commercial mixes for gas forges have in them.

I put mine in a pepper shaker and coat the weld surfaces at a cherry red. The borax will melt and form a crude glass that protects the metal surface while you bring it up to welding temp.

 

[sir henry]

Hay Anvil thanks but the !@#$%^&*!@#$%^grocery stores up here in Michigan dos'nt have any unless someone in MI knows a @#$%^&*(%*&##%$grocery store that does. sorry jest letting off some steam :curse: but thanks anyway.

 

Sorry guy, I thought it was still pretty universal in the stores. You might want to check out Centaur Forge over in Wisconsin. They have regular Borax and also carry compounds: E-Z Weld, Crescent, etc.

Here's the link:

http://www.centaurforge.com/

Good luck...

 

[petlis]

Sir Henry you can find the anhydrous borax on e-bay also.Anvil I have been fooling around for about a year now with the blacksmithing,you bring the item to cherry red and cover with the borax then bring to welding temp(yellow-sparking)then pound the two together is this correct?How do you remove the baked on borax off the item?Thanks...Pete

 

[Walker357]

Just as an aside, mix 2 tablespoons in a gallon of water and it will kill creeping charlie with a couple of applications. Or if you're lazy like me, just broadcast it before it rains.

 

[blksmth52]

Sir Henry you can find the anhydrous borax on e-bay also.Anvil I have been fooling around for about a year now with the blacksmithing,you bring the item to cherry red and cover with the borax then bring to welding temp(yellow-sparking)then pound the two together is this correct?How do you remove the baked on borax off the item?Thanks...Pete

Mild steel has a very narrow temp range when forge welding, and is not as forgiving as wrought iron. When you're bringing you work up to a welding heat, if you get more than just a couple sparks, the weld won't "take". Also remember: When forge welding, the surfaces of the pieces are molten, sparks are metal coming off into the fire. Use light hammer blows to make the weld. This will shoot most of the flux out of the weld leaving the molten metal to join. Heavy blows will shoot all the molten metal out of the weld area, and you'll be trying to join two "dry" pieces.
Also a word on flux...if you use borax use the anhydrous variety. Personally, I go to a ferrier supply house and purchase "Sure-Weld", a commercial flux. You will get much more consistant welds.
:m2c: :results:
Sparky