[TheForge] Welding flux?

[Jerry Frost]

On 7/21/2013 7:40 PM, Mike Spencer wrote:
> Jerry wrote:
>
>> I've recently been introduced to anhydrous borax and while it's no
>> different 20 mule team once hotter than about 230f it wets the stock
>> and doesn't foam, foam being more likely to ride a little steam
>> layer off the stock. I have a little iron ladle I keep by the forge
>> and just melt some borax when I need the non-foaming version, dip a
>> little out and wipe it on the stock. Works but it's a hassle.
> I think I've posted this before...
>
> I got annoyed with the foaming so I melted a bunch of borax in an iron
> ladle, poured it out onto my steel welding table.  It hardened up into
> a brittle, glassy, black puddle.  Broke that up and ran it through a
> an old meat grinder -- a grain grinder would be better but I only have
> a good one in the kitchen -- and then ground it a little finer using a
> rounded hammer face as a pestle.  Doesn't foam at all.  And it keeps
> well, doesn't instantly (or even slowly) absorb water from the air and
> revert to the hydrated form.
>
> I don't do a lot of welding so I don't keep in practice. Means I need
> all the help I can get when I want to casually knock off a weld.
>
> - Mike
>
Itried grinding baked borax with a yard sale blender, worked fine but 
the blender didn't like it much. It worked well as flux, no foam and 
acted like borax as a flux. Nothing special though didn't wet as well 
but . . .

Seems the commercial fluxes I've seen used work better, some a lot 
better. I don't weld a lot either but enough to want to make it easier. 
. . Well, okay I'm lazy enough to want to make it easier. <wink>
Jer