Finally got my first perfect forge weld after 3 years of trying

Ive been beating myself up over forge welding since I started in my backyard setup in Denver three years ago. Last week I had the heat just right and the flux flowed perfect, and it actually held together like it was supposed to. Anyone else have that one technique that took way longer than you expected to click?

2 comments

2 Comments

allen.amy2d agoMost Upvoted

That feeling when the stars finally align and it actually sticks is amazing, congrats! My breakthrough came when I stopped trying to rush the heat and just focused on getting an even dull orange across the whole billet. Switching from borax to a mix of borax and boric acid helped a ton too, it flows way smoother and doesn't burn off as fast. Keeping the hammer strikes lighter and faster made a big difference, I was swinging way too hard at first. Still mess it up plenty, but now I know what to look for in the fire.

garcia.charles1d agoTop Commenter

Wait, borax and boric acid mixed? I've been using straight borax this whole time and never even thought to try that. Does the boric acid change how the flux behaves when it hits the steel? I've had so many pieces where the borax just burns off before I can even get a good weld started, and I'm left staring at a dry, scaly billet. That might explain why I've been fighting with it for months. I gotta try this on my next canister damascus attempt.