This has been the longest "back burner" project in history, but I finally got around to building a forge. I've been itching to hammer something out, so after running some errands this morning, I fired up the forge and started hammering on a farrier's rasp. I know, it's a bit ambitious for a first attempt, but that's the way I roll.
I got it hammered into the shape I wanted, then folded it over and cranked up the heat to attempt a forge weld. I used borax for flux and waited till I thought it was hot enough and went at it. I think I ended up trying to weld 4 different times, and I believe the 3rd and 4th actually welded. I think I might have been a bit impatient to start with and didn't allow it to get up to heat. I have nothing to go by but color, and I'm just learning that.
It's very rough, and very apparent that the weld is uneven. It welded in places, and failed in others. But there's no teacher like experience, and I enjoyed this one. Perhaps the biggest thing I learned is how much easier it would have been to handle the rasp with a set of box jaw tongs. Looking forward to Trackrock and learning from some craftsmen there.
I got it hammered into the shape I wanted, then folded it over and cranked up the heat to attempt a forge weld. I used borax for flux and waited till I thought it was hot enough and went at it. I think I ended up trying to weld 4 different times, and I believe the 3rd and 4th actually welded. I think I might have been a bit impatient to start with and didn't allow it to get up to heat. I have nothing to go by but color, and I'm just learning that.
It's very rough, and very apparent that the weld is uneven. It welded in places, and failed in others. But there's no teacher like experience, and I enjoyed this one. Perhaps the biggest thing I learned is how much easier it would have been to handle the rasp with a set of box jaw tongs. Looking forward to Trackrock and learning from some craftsmen there.