24
My first attempt at forge welding railroad spikes totally failed until I figured out the flux trick
I tried forge welding some railroad spikes together for a bigger project last weekend. First three tries the metal just crumbled apart at the seam. Then an old timer at the shop told me I wasn't using enough borax flux and my heat was too high by about 100 degrees. After I dialed it back and coated the joint heavy with flux, they fused perfect on the fourth try. Anybody else struggle with getting the temp right when forge welding this kind of steel?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
evah4019d ago
Oh man, you're telling me... I had the exact same problem when I first started messing with railroad spikes. I was cranking the heat way too high, thinking hotter was better, and ended up with a crumbly mess every time. That borax trick is a lifesaver, but you gotta be stingy with it too. I found I was overheating the steel way past welding temp and it was just burning off the flux before it could do its job. Now I keep it in that dull orange range and pack the borax on thick, and I get a solid weld almost every try now... mostly anyway.
6