Unpopular opinion: I think a lot of people overthink their forge welding flux.

I used to mix my own complex borax-based flux for months, but after a bad batch ruined a Damascus billet, I just buy the premade stuff now. It's consistent and I haven't had a cold weld since. Am I the only one who thinks simple is better here?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_lee2mo ago

Yeah, @the_riley is right about the mess. I just grab the can of premix now and save the brain power for the hammer work.

lily972mo ago

Wait, crushed glass? You actually put that in your flux? I can't even picture how that wouldn't just wreck everything. Like, wouldn't the glass melt and stick to the steel? I'm trying to imagine cleaning that up and it sounds like a total nightmare. No wonder you switched to the premix, that's wild!

the_riley2mo ago

Used to be a big believer in custom flux mixes myself. Spent hours tweaking ratios and adding weird stuff like crushed glass. Then I watched a perfectly good stack of 1084 and 15n20 just turn into expensive scale. The premixed powder is boring, but it works the same way every single time. My welds are cleaner now with way less mess to clean up afterward.