PSA: A welder friend told me to try using a piece of copper pipe as a heat sink

He said he uses a 6-inch section clamped behind a weld when working on thin steel to stop it from warping. Has anyone else tried this trick for forge welding or small repairs?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantthomas1mo ago

My uncle used a big copper block for that on old car panels. It worked but he said you have to be careful not to melt the copper itself.

claireg811mo ago

Oh wow, that's actually a really good point. I always figured copper was just a better heat sink and that was the whole story. Never even considered you could put enough heat in to mess up the copper block itself. Makes total sense though, you're dumping a ton of energy into a small spot. Changes how I look at that whole technique.