[TheForge] Forging Chrome plated bumpers

[Ralph E. Douglass]

Dave Bendall wrote:

>      There's a shop here in Phx. that has piles of old chrome bumpers,
> too, that's always gotten me wondering about forging them. My questions
> are, assuming there's a safe way to forge this stuff, would the chrome
> stay on after forging? Like, after you mangled it into whatever, could
> you re-polish it to chrome-y brightness? Also, would it be possible to
> forge weld up a billet of chrome bumper pieces for damascus purposes?
> Seems like chrome layers would be pretty neat looking. Anyone ever
> tried? I've always understood that chrome plated stuff was dangerous to
> forge because of the acid bath if goes through in the plating process.
> Heating  it causes the acid to come out in fumes. For that matter, ANY
> smoke or fumes have got to be bad for you to some degree or other.
>      Dave Bendall in Phoenix

I do not think the chrome would survive the forge heat. Nor the mechanical
manipulation of the metal.
As for forgewelding into a billet..... I kow that flourite(florspar) is
added to flux when welding Stainless steel to deal with the chrome in the
stainless. So it seems it would be a not so good thing... but with that
said, try it and see..... I know I hate it when folks tell me something
can not be done only because they say it has never been done before....

Ralph


> ___________

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