[TheForge] New Discoveries: Ersatz EZ Weld

[David Childress]

While a bit of a different subject,  does anyone know of how to make
Erstz "Anto-Borax".  I really do not know what the stuff is, but is
very popular while several members of our group.  They get upset when
someone uses it like it is just cheap ol'borax.  Of course being cheap
I just use borax, but if something could be made up cheaper than those
little cans of Anti-borax we could keep the upset down.

David Childress
Rocky Forge Blacksmith Guild

On 4/14/08, Peter Hirst <saltydog335 at aol.com> wrote:
> The epoxy solvent series was so much fun I thought I'd contribute my own discovery.  I need a bunch of EZ Weld for an upcoming project, and seem to recall it is just borax with iron filings.  SO I have been pondering what might be a cheap easy source of iron filings.  Filing iron, as it turns out, is not it.  As I was pondering, a pad of 2-aught steel wool popped into my hand and AHA! says I, one step away from cheap easy iron filings!  After a couple of different tries at ways to pulverize steel wool that were so fruitless I think I'll save myself the embarrassment of sharing them, I hit upon the Ideal Steel Wool Pulverizing Technology.  A grain mill.  That old steel cutter grain mill from my home made beer and granola days is just the thing.  Unroll a coupla pads o' double aught, feed it right in the hopper, and quicker n you can say falafel a nice neat pile o' shiny new iron granules.  Mixed with raw outta the box borax, it made about a quart of Ersatz EZ Weld.  Now I suppoze if I took the time to dehydrate the borax I could grind it in the same device and have Even Less Ersatz EZ Weld.
>
> Now here's the thing:  I've read somwhere that what you can' use for iron in Ersatz EZ Weld is grinder dust, cause its just iron oxide.  But in checking up my EEZW formula, I just read the Material Safety Data Sheet on the Real EZW and guess what:  it's 45-55 percent "slag/FeO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4"  how bout that?  So do I throw a bunch of scale or grinder dust  in with the borax an steel shavings?
>
> I'm just gonna stick with the borax and shavings for now.  I figure I made about 30 bucks worth of EEZW for about a buck in broax and steel wool.  I'll let ya know how the next coupla thousand forge welds turn out.
>
> ;-)
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