Pattern Welding Tutorial - Part 1 - Initial Welding

[drewbob901]

Where do you get flux?

[FredeenBlades]

@drewbob901

The flux I use is borax. You can purchase 20 Mule Team Borax at most any grocery store, it is in the laundry isle. It is commonly used for a laundry detergent booster, but is also great for forge welding.

[DelornificatioN]

@ 1:00 what are you pouring over the metal, and why?

[huckleberry803]

when i try to forge weld 5160 and 15n20 and go to but the flux on, the flux is real thick and gooey and doesnt splatter like that when i hit it. is it possible i am using too much borax? i am sugar coating it like in this video but it just seems like it gunks up the cracks instead of going in them. please help i am so lost!!!  -thanks-

[FredeenBlades]

@huckleberry803

Sorry I missed your comment, I typically try to respond.

It is hard to use too much flux as any excess will drip off the billet. From what it sounds like to me, you aren't getting your billet hot enough to successfully forge weld. When the billet is hot enough, the borax will start to bubble and "dance" on the surface of the steel. Think of melted butter. If you don't heat hot enough, the borax will not be fluid and your forge welds won't be successful.

[Lordpoezema]

shouldn't you wear gloves?

[Traith01]

I dont know anything about forging, but I am curious as to what wire brushing the billet does.

[FredeenBlades]

@Traith01 Thanks for your interest Traith. Wire brushing cleans the billet off. After welding, there is a great deal of "spent" flux and scale. It is necessary to remove this from the billet, so that's where the wire brushing comes in.

[jackdog20]

what steel did you use?

[Lakesideforge]

why do you hold the metal parell with the anvil?

[FredeenBlades]

@Lakesideforge

I normally don't work in this configuration, this occured more as a result of trying to get a usable camera angle. There wasn't really room to stand on the other side of the anvil to work or to film, and if I worked "normally" I'd be standing in the way of where the camera had to be.

[RingLord3]

Did you forge weld it onto rebar? (Not sure if that's how it's spelled.

[FredeenBlades]

@RingLord3 No, the rebar is welded to the billet before forge welding, using elecric arc welding (either MIG or Stick, cant remember which specifically for this case). The rebar just acts as a handle to allow for more control and easier movement of the billet instead of using tongs. You can also leave one of the center layer pieces of barstock much longer so it sticks out and use that as a handle, however, I find the rebar to be the easiest solution for me.

[RingLord3]

Im about to build a forge and I just want to know what the powerder is you put on your work?

[FredeenBlades]

@RingLord3

The powder is 20 mule team borax. You can find it in most grocery stores, in the laundry detergent isle (its used as a laundry detergent booster). For forge welding the borax acts as a flux, which serves to coat the billet to help prevent contamination through oxidation, and it also acts to clean and float away contaminates from your welding surfaces. This is only necessary for when you are forge welding. It is not something that needs to be used for any regular forging procedure.

[RingLord3]

@FredeenBlades Thank you for the info that clears a lot of things up.

[azreal289]

@FredeenBlades dude you are the best, I was horrified that i couldnt get my welding to work, I was sure I needed flux but havent been able to find any, even in welding supply stores. Thanks man, I'm going to go pick some up tomorrow and give it a go,

[FredeenBlades]

@azreal289 Sure, glad to be of help. Feel free to hit me up with other questions as they come up.

As a side note, it is possible to "dry weld" when forge welding, however this requires extremly good billet preparation (clean surfaces that are in direct contact). Dry welding can work quite well, but its much higher up the learning curve so best to stick with borax until you have forge welding down pat, then you can experiment.

[Conan568]

How big is that stack?

I like to make enough to get 10 small knives from my bars.

Good to see more of us here on Youtube.

[threejay01]

alright, I really hope I don't show my newbie colors on this question, but it's a possibility. Are the several layers being forge welded and the handle of the billet simply spot welded together before entering the forge? Also, what type of metal are you using?

thank you

Matt

[FredeenBlades]

You got it. The steel starts out as individual layers which are held together before forge welding with some tack welds along the ends. A handle is welded to the end of the billet to make moving and working it much easier, that way you don't have to try to fool with tongs.

The steels in that billet were 1095 and 15N20. Not sure on the original layer count... I want to say 19 alternating layers, with the 1095 on the outside pieces.

[jackdog20]

do you have any advise on how to weld in a coal forge?

[viper8red]

You might want to try using a brush with the handle on top. Boy is it easy to make a mistake with those type of wire brushes. One scrub to far and you'll burn your hand like you can't believe.

[humungus3]

Cool video, what was the stuff you were spooning onto the metal?

[couruzo]

20 mule team borax, a common household item used for many things including an insecticide. its used here as a flux to remove the impurities from the steel to make a better weld.

[marcheseDS]

Your anvil is quiet as wood stump! While welding it is normal, the steel is completely plastic and absorbs all the energy without ringing. But even when you tap on it directly with the hammer your anvil doesn't ring at all: why? Does it ring at least when you use the horn?

[FredeenBlades]

The anvil is an old Fisher & Norris anvil. These anvils are made with a cast iron body and steel face. Due to the cast iron body, they don't ring like most other anvils, which have wrought iron bodies. Fisher & Norris made very good anvils, they are just quiet. I'd almost like it to ring because I love the sound of a ringing anvil, its one of the most beautiful sounds in my opinion, but it does the job and doesnt bother the neighbors so I can't complain.