damascus weld in a can

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leroyk3

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Feb 16, 2009
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I am quite new to forging damascus and I am going to try a billet in a can. Do I need to drill a small hole in the can to burn out
oxegen or will it take care of itself? Any help on this will be appericated. Thanks Leroyk
 
You need a small hole in the can so it won't explode from the pressure. To burn out the oxygen put some paper in the bottom of the can before you fill it with steel and then spray a bit of WD40 in through the hole right before you put it in the forge.
 
People do it both ways.

The whole point behind a can weld is to shut out oxygen.

It makes sense to me to seal it
Fill the can with no air space, make the ends sturdy enough to handle some pressure.
My welds aren't airtight anyway that's for sure.

I learned quite a lot from Bruce Bumps WIP threads on Knife Dogs forum
 
i have done it both ways i think a welded closed can as full and solid as you can get it is the key.lots of heat/time like 20-30 minutes then weld you will feel the difference
 
For those of you who recommend a well tamped, sealed canister I have a short story. A close friend and I had welded up a matched set of 3 inch wide canisters; they were made up of wire cable and 4600 e powder. Both cans were tig welded closed. By chance or a stroke of good luck one had a small hole in the weld around the lid. The other was a perfect weld with no weep hole. We didn't know there was a difference in the cans. We heated the vented canister first and welded it when it came to temperature. The second can was coming to temp as we were working the other can down. When it exploded inside the forge we both hit the ground. It blew one whole side off the three inch canister. It sounded like someone had pulled the trigger on a twelve gauge inside the forge.
I make up all my canisters with a weep hole these days. The explosion cured me of sealing them completely.

Do yourself a favor and leave a weephole its dangerous to do otherwise, Fred
 
Some can weld airtight seams so it is a good safety to drill a very small hole in the can. I have found that there is normally enough burnable material left on the steel so the burnout material really is not required. But then the paper does not cause problems. I have had problems with wd40 so I do not use it any more. The key is to make sure you get the weld on the first press so no O2 will infiltrate as the billet cools. The 30 minute soak is after the can looks like it is up to full forge welding temp. This could take 30 minutes itself. i like to let mine soak for about 45 mins after the color is uniform. I have had almost zero defects wen I do this. I have had some wen I did a 30 min soak. But then I also do larger billets than the average person. Your experience may vary.
 
Thanks for the good advice guys. I think I will go with the small hole for my first try. I don't need any extra loud sounds in my shop. I wonder if I welded hole shut after it was hot, if that would help? Thans Leroy
 
When I first started working with canned welds I did weld the hole shut after it got to heat. But I stopped. Keep the vent hole very small and you wont have any problems. I think the cans contents expand and plug the hole. I may be wrong but makes seance to me. :)
 
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