Had a blacksmith from Ohio call me out for using too much flux on forge welds

He said I was washing the heat out of the steel and after trying it his way with half the flux last Thursday I got my first clean weld on the third try, has anyone else been told they're overdoing something basic for years?

2 comments

2 Comments

paigewood20d ago

Washing the heat out" sounds like blacksmith poetry. Honestly flux is cheap and you can always reheat. I've seen guys swear by the opposite too heavy on the borax. Third try is fast honestly most welds I mess up take way more than that. People love telling you what you do wrong but if it works it works.

charlie_stone7220d ago

Jump into this from a different angle. I've had plenty of joints where the borax foamed up like a science project and I still got a solid weld on the third pass. The trick I've found is keeping the heat consistent, not blasting it on high to burn through the crust. If you're getting oxidation under all that flux, you might be pulling the torch away too fast between passes. Let the piece soak a bit on each rehear and you'll see the slag lift off cleaner.