Newbie amateur smith

[jochaanen19]

I've been a maker for 70 years, new to malleable metal arts smithing, have a small propane forge, would like to stretch into forge welding with coal or charcoal

[RedDogForge]

welcome new here myself, full time blacksmith and bladesmith, and a BIG fan of coal forges. let me know if I can be of any help.
as far as welding, Uri Hoffi said it best, to paraphrase the Master, " its too cold, and/or your hitting it too hard"

basically surface prep and flux is important, but just as crucial is to get that sucker to JUST below sparklers. TAP the first stikes to "mush" the joint together, barely enough force to force out the flux from the scarfed areas of contact without losing the molten metal.
to give you an idea of the force NOT required for those set strikes, Uri, when demonstrating forge welding, uses a champagne bottle as a hammer to set the welds.
Its really not that hard to do, it was in fact the very first thing apprentices learned after the year or two of obligatory sweeping and fire maintenance.
they would be told to save all the floor scraps over the course of time, then when it was time to give them a hammer, welding was shown, the master pointed to the keg of scrap and said " now weld that into rod stock"
said apprentice was then shown how to make a nail header, and then how to make nails with his welded barstock.

[Jon]

Hi jochaanen19 - welcome to HomemadeTools.net

Here, this link might help: Homemade Forging and Casting Tools - HomemadeTools.net

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