trouble wedling up cable

[NickWheeler]

Okay, since I'm new to this forging stuff, please bear with my ignorance.

I never thought much of cable damascus...until I saw some more of Wayne Goddard's work and his video. Plus, with just a hammer I figured I could get some to weld (without a press or power hammer).

I have some good cable (1095 I believe). I put it in the forge and got it orange, took it out and put on a HEAVY coating of anhydrous borax. Put it back in and waited until a coat hanger stuck to it.

Took it out and tap,tap,tapped on it. Flux, fire...took it out and twisted it tight.

Flux, fire, pound...a few times.

Wayne suggested that I fold it, but only once. This is where my problem seems to be.

I drew it out and pounded it as flat as my forging newbie self could, cut a fold line in it, scraped off the scale, fluxed it, and put it back in the forge.

Took it out, bent it over, squared it up, more flux...back in the fire.

I took it out and tapped it pretty lightly all the way around. No weld.

Flux, more fire, and beat the heck out of it. Looked like it welded.

Ground a blade out of the billet, and found a big fat ugly void in it.

Thoughts???

I know I'm not going to get it perfect off the start, but I'd like to eliminate as much wasted time as possible.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[Alan Folts]

I have learned that when attempting a fold you need to let the stock air cool to room temperature, cut, sand to bare steel!, and restack and tack weld, then forge just like you were starting off with plain layers...

Any firescale inside the weld will cause a shut... no matter how much flux you use, there is no where for that firescale to go, so clean is the way IMO....

Let us see when ya get soemthing that works! I love all the different stuff i see being made from all the different makers out there...

Learning is half the fun.... only half.

Alan...



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If a Man talks in the forest, and there is no Woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

 

[Bruce Bump]

Steel starts to build scale on the surface way before you think. You cant weld scale. (1300 degrees is annealing temp and scale is already forming) Start fluxing early and heat the first heat slowly. Flux and rotate the billet often to help the flux flow. Dont try to scrimp on the borax. Be sure there is a reduced atmosphere inside the forge. This means to turn up the propane to help reduce the oxygen. You can usually see this by the yellow rich flame coming out the door of the forge. Its hard to see the colors of the billet unless you are indoors or at least under a carport. The coat hanger trick is a good one but learn to watch the color of the billet. Aso get a wooden box to throw all your screwed up early attempts into. They make good conversation peices in a couple years. Have fun and dont get mad and give up. You will get it. Keep us posted. Looking forward to meeting you in Eugene, Bruce B.

 

[rotor]

i like to flux the cable as soon as possible
keep pulling the cable out of the fire and refluxing until the flux covers the cable completely i like to do this before it it starts to show color. then bring it up to orange heat at this point i take and put into the vice and twist the piss out of it. reflux liberally then back into the fire. if the cable need more twisting put it back ito the vice grunt some more. generously flux it and back into the fire. bring it up to welding temp.i like to flatten to half the the thickness of the cable.useing lite blows followed with increasing heavy ones then i will do the same beating down from the edge this will weld up the edge wires and tell you if you have a good weld or not when im ready to fold i will cut the billet 1/2 way through cover the side that your gonna weld put it in the fire bring up to welding heat take out using a wet wire brush,brush away all the flux. then reflux immediately before any scale has time to form.then fold over if the billet still has good color. add more flux back in the fire bring up to orange to dull orange color take out tap billet litely to make sure everything is tight and squared up. apply more flux back into fire bring up to welding heat using lite blows weld up the billet then repeat keys to this is flux,flux and more flux and dont forge below red heat i hope this helps.
Russ

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cable damascus is like a box of choclate ya never know what yer gonna get