[TheForge] Mokume-Gane

[frosty at customcpu.com]

Mokume Gane is very similar to damascus or pattern welding and the metals are 
in fact welded. The process is "diffusion" welding rather than "fusion" 
welding.

The metals are cleaned extremely well and clamped together in an iron/steel 
clamp. In many cases the metals and or combinations are very finicky and the 
billet and clamp are sealed in foil bags. Once the billet is prepped, clamped 
and bagged if necessary it is placed in a furnace.

In the case of easy combinations like copper/silver or copper/brass the billet 
can be heated in a propane forge and temp judged by eye. By eyeball you bring 
the billet to "sweating" heat, the metal will look wet, and hold it there for 
a good soaking period.

Ferrous metals don't expand as much as nonferrous so the pressure achieved in 
the iron/steel clamp is extreme.

What happens is metals at high temperature and in close contact (very clean) 
exchange electrons. After a bit of time the dissimilar metals are welded and 
the billet is as strong as the weakest metal in it. The billet can be forged 
and otherwise worked within the strength and heat limits of the weakest/lowest 
melt metal.

Another technique for making mokume gane is to clamp it together, bring it to 
heat and hammer weld it. 

I haven't tried the second method but have successfully made a brass/copper 
billet. I forged it a bit, cut, ground, played around with it in general. It 
was fine as a proof of "I can do it" project but I wasn't too impressed with 
the color contrast.

Frosty

Quoting george rousis <feorge at kc.rr.com>:

> so what will be bonding method will you be using???
> 
> 
> george
>