[TheForge] disintegrating welding rod

[xlch58 at swbell.net]

I arc weld stuff that I later hammer out all the time. In fact I just 
finished doing that ten minutes ago.   I arc welded an extra handle on 
an old ford wrench for a bar twister.  The
arc weld was a good weld, but just looked offensive on the tool, so I 
stuck it in the forge and hammered it out until the new and old handle 
flowed better together.  Some trace of the edges of the weld, but that 
is it.  Given that I was smacking it pretty hard, it held up well.  
Don't know what the problem is you are encountering.  I would look at 
the rod.  I tend to use a 6011.    I have had problems with mystery 
metals that disintegrate under the hammer.  The lycoming lifters I was 
working on day before yesterday were like that.  I have tried re-forging 
hammer heads and had that problem.  

Charles

Justin Fellenz wrote:

>All,
>
>I've been finding that electric welds, especially tig, disintegrate in
>the forge. Last session I cheated and tigged a couple of pieces of bar
>together rather than forge-weldng them. I used a general purpose mild
>steel gas welding rod (probably RG-45, copper coated) and 2 1/2" round
>bars of 1018 or 1020, or, my supplier said, maybe a38. I cleaned the
>rods up with a flap wheel, beveled the edges, and burnt em together.
>Looked like good penetration,a little sparking from junk on the metal
>but not too bad. But when I heated it up and beat on it with a hammer,
>the filler just sort of diappeared leaving gaps between the bar ends. 
>
>Maybe I didnt get it all the way clean and carbon or scale deposits or
>whatever heated up and blew the filler or the HAZ metal out. My best
>guess. Anyone else experience this? I find that mig welds hold up ok as
>long as the penetration's really good, but where it's not it looks like
>the HAZ again just kind of powders and the bead pulls away from the
>bar.
>
>Thoughts?
>
>Cheers,
>
>JRF 
>  
>