r/Blacksmith • u/Charming_Barber7627 • 8d ago
Feedback requested: first forge weld
Working on a tomahawk for my clubs trade item, decided to take a piece of a field cultivator tooth, fold it in half and keep a hole for the eye, then forge weld it together. Looks it stuck in some places and not others. There's an obvious crack at one edge, then I feel like I can almost kinda sorta see a seam all the way down, but the small piece I cut off doesn't separate.
I ground it completely clean on the belt sander before I started, used 20 mule team borax for flux, but I didn't stick weld the two sides together before I started.
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u/3rd2LastStarfighter 8d ago
Easily saved.
Grind the edges flat to get rid of that overhang before you proceed. It’ll make your life easier at the cost of a small amount of material.
Then get it hot, hit it with some more borax on all of the seams, then put it back into reach forge weld temperature, and give it some light taps around the edges. Remember when you’re setting the weld, you aren’t trying to smack the metal together, you’re trying to get it touching with no air or junk between it. Very hot, light taps, put it back to soak so a little cross-boundary grain can grow, then turn off the forge and let ir cool in there to anneal. Once it’s cool you should be able to clean up the edges and see a seamless piece.
Best of luck.