My forge welds kept falling apart. Took me 3 days to figure out why.

I was trying to weld a set of tongs and every time I took it to the anvil the joint just crumbled. Flux was bubbling right so I figured it was a heat problem. Turns out my fire was too oxidizing. I had the blower cranked way up and it was burning the steel before it could bond. Anyone else deal with this or am I just thick in the head?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.charlie1mo ago

That oxidizing fire thing will eat your welds alive before you even know it's happening. A good way to check is to look at the color of the flame coming off your forge, you want a soft, neutral flame without that sharp, blue-white edge. Your flux bubbling right is actually a sign of too much oxygen, it burns off way too fast and leaves the steel naked before it can stick together.

mason_ward1mo ago

Wait, so that bubbling flux isn't a good thing? I always thought it meant it was working, learn something new every day.