Forge weld

[Marty]

Lets say I have my steel cleaned stacked and tack welded all ready for the forge but I don't have time to forge weld it and need to set it aside for a day or So my question is how can I store the billet?

 

[billyO]

Many of us have a can of kerosene for this very reason. I'll often prep a number of billets at one time, cleaning and tacking them, and storing them in kerosene until I get a good forging day now that we're in the rainy season here in the PNW.

 

[Marty]

Ok straight out of kerosene into the forge.thank you Billy

 

[Marty]

Is the kerosene a normal step in your forge welding?

 

[billyO]

Is the kerosene a normal step in your forge welding?

Not if I make up the billet while the forge is getting up to heat, but most of the time, yes.

 

[jmforge]

Some folks use kerosene for the initial weld instead of flux or sealing the billet by welding the seams or putting it in a can. The conventional wisdom is that the burning kerosene forms a temporary protective layer of carbon on the surfaces. Some say that layer is delicate so you don't want to bang the billet around too much once it goes into the forge. I have done this several times and it worked, but i still used borax to make sure he edges were closed up after the weld. It goes without saying that you DON"T dip your billet back in the kerosene once you stat forge welding.

 

[Noellaflamme]

It goes without saying that you DON"T dip your billet back in the kerosene once you stat forge welding.

well you could do that... but only once

 

[Marty]

well you could do that... but only once

Lol yeah that's wouldn't happen twice.thanks for the info jm