[TheForge] flux

[dan tull]

Interesting experiment.
I would think the temp you take each end to would have to be carefully 
controlled
to check grain growth, and etc.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "paul" <forge at wi.rr.com>
To: "Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 4:47 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] flux


> kim george wrote:
>> I add iron-steel to my borax. I get it by going to a garage that turns 
>> drums and rotors. They give it away. It's also good for helping roses 
>> bloom.
>>
>> Kim George
>>
>>       "Why for you burry me in cold,cold ground?" Taz
>
> Just a side note.
> By way of experiment some years ago I used brake drum turnings, ie cast 
> iron particles, with anhydrous borax to effect a 'case hardening' 
> operation that occurs in seconds vs hours using a traditional case 
> hardening method.
> A one foot piece of 3/8" cold rolled was heated on each end and forged to 
> a flat about 1/2" or so wide. One end was heated past critical (what ever 
> that is for mild steel) , coated with flux only, re-heated and and 
> quenched.
> The other end was heated, fluxed, sprinkled with the cast iron turnings 
> (read high carbon content) reheated and lightly forged and then reheated 
> and held at heat for 20 or 30 seconds and then quenched. Subsequent simple 
> vise-type bend test showed that the end that had received no iron turnings 
> simply bent, while the treated end snapped. Carbon penetrates iron at 
> temperature quite rapidly.
> Regardless of the utility of the process I described, I thought that you 
> might be careful using cast iron turnings so as not to cause hardening of 
> your forge weld. The lower melting point of the cast iron fillings might 
> be useful, but the potential hardening of the weld might not be.
>
>
> -- 
> Paul Sperbeck
> WB9HCO
> jadap
>
>  "The difference between genius and stupidity is that
> genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
>
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