[TheForge] Welding flux?

[Bruce .]

A web search turned up some potentially useful information:

http://www.force-industries.com/brazandwelding.htm
http://www.force-industries.com/msds-sheets.htm

"PETTERSON #1 BLUE FLUX was specifically formulated for the torch
brazing of steel in addition to torch welding brass, bronze and
copper. It cleans and flows to form a strong bond on rusty, greasy
steel and malleable iron. Additionally, Peterson #1 destroys all
oxides and floats them to the surface. Conforms to AWS Class. BF3-F."

MSDS:  http://www.force-industries.com/documents/550-PET1-2.pdf
  Composition: Boric acid & borax.

Okay, that blurb is hyperbole.  " ... destroys all oxides..." no way.
"...floats them to the surface...", well that's what a flux is for!
Notice the simple composition.  FWIW, I've found boric acid sold in
Family Dollar stores as bug poison.

The MSDS is a bit amusing too, as it lists as "incompatible /
materials to avoid" --
   --- potassium (a soft-as butter metal that explodes if you put it
in water), and
   --- "acetic hydride" (a name that makes no sense to me.  "Acetic"
usually means CH3-CO-something.  "Hydride" means a hydrogen atom that
tends to have a negative charge (rather unusual, but not unheard of).
Together they mean nothing to me.  Maybe they meant to write "acetic
anhydride" -- a water-reactive compound used, among other things, for
making acetate plastic.)


"PETERSON #2 FLUX is the same as Peterson #1 but with an increased
high-end temperature range. It is a bend of flux and metal which
synergistically perform at temperature. Conforms to AWS Class. FB3-J"

MSDS:  http://www.force-industries.com/documents/551-PET2-2.pdf
  Composition:  Boric acid, sodium chlorate, and iron oxide.

Well, that blurb also seems to have been written by somebody who
didn't quite know what he was talking about.  Iron oxide -- and they
don't specify which of the several -- is not "metal" but metal oxide.
Neither boric acid nor sodium chlorATE (an oxidizing agent), nor the
abundant atmospheric oxygen has much hope of reducing iron oxide to
iron, so forget the "metal" part of the blurb.  Note that sodium
chlorate is a fairly powerful oxidizer, so treat it with some respect.
 Many fluxes are chemically active, so reading the MSDS is a good
idea.  To their credit, the MSDS warns you of this.

So, neither of these matches the composition Frosty read.

Nonetheless, the original point is alternative fluxes, and I'd like to
hear what others have to say, too.

On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 7:22 PM, Jerry Frost <akfrosty at mtaonline.net> wrote:

> Petterson #2 High Heat Flux. The can says it's for brazing, bronzing, etc.
> cast iron, steel, SS; torch welding, brass, bronze, etc. It's a dry powder
> flux and the claim is it melts low temp, works on greasy, rusty and dirty,
> it cleans, deoxidizes and floats scale off and is no more toxic than hot
> borax. The usual, don't get it in your eyes, breath it or eat it, may be a
> skin irritant. It's boric acid, borax and iron.
>
> Here in Wasilla a 1lb. can is $23.00+tax. I'm thinking it just might be
> worth experimenting with forge welding. Seems like the same ingredient list
> as most forge welding fluxes.
>
> Anyone have any experience with Petterson fluxes in the forge? There are a
> few.
>
> Jer
> ________

-- 
Bruce
NJ