Could it be that after many billets and many boxes of Borax?

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This is one I've also heard about but never tried. That said, I've got 5 gallons of diesel in a can that I could use to give it a shot...I too am curious about why it works though...I hate it when I can't explain why something happens in my shop.

-d

You will want to use kerosine and NOT diesel. The diesel has additives that you don't want.

Gary

So what's the point of adding a high carbon layer... with or with out use of a can because Casenite will do it either way... instead of or before fluxing to weld?

Mike

Robert;

A pickel jar with a hole in the lid, a wick, and some of your kerosene flux will make an excellent sooting device; no need for an oxy/cetelyn rig. Us old timers call it a lamp.

Mike

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Robert;

A pickel jar with a hole in the lid, a wick, and some of your kerosene flux will make an excellent sooting device; no need for an oxy/cetelyn rig. Us old timers call it a lamp.

Mike

Have you used a lamp to put soot on steel to be welded? If not, what for, Mike?

Mike

Actually mine is an old medicine bottle with a 30-06 hull jammed in it. I use it for hard fitting knife and gun parts. I have never soot welded a thing in my life. Interesting concept though; I will get around to trying it one of these days.

Did weld up a couple of billets yesterday using coal oil for flux. the jury is out till I get them finished out and see what they look like.

Mike

I dont know if there are different varieties and compositions of kerosene out there, but it was suggested to me by several mastersmiths that i could expect lots of black smoke and soot on my billets from trying kerosene. I found nothing of the sort, my forge ran for several minutes like it was fuel rich but that was it, clean welds on a w's pattern and no clean up! I for one am going to keep playing with this although I would recommend letting your billet cool somewhat before plunging it back into the kerosene

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Actually mine is an old medicine bottle with a 30-06 hull jammed in it. I use it for hard fitting knife and gun parts. I have never soot welded a thing in my life. Interesting concept though; I will get around to trying it one of these days.

Did weld up a couple of billets yesterday using coal oil for flux. the jury is out till I get them finished out and see what they look like.

Mike

Not on the topic but... did you find the dry soot for hard fitting worked better than lampblack (grease based) and it's substitutes?

Mike

Well, I tried it the other day, seemed to work pretty good. Only thing I didn't like, was the black lines along the edges of the billet. Had to grind .030"-.040" off to get passed it, but the rest looks welded. We'll see when it's finished. I didn't have kerosene, so used lamp oil, smelled like kero though?

Don, black lines that were "not welded" metal or ?

Mike

So, is the Casenite thing Ric Furrer did a welding flux or an anti-decarb-layer process or both?

Mike Krall

Mike;

I find sooting in parts much cleaner and faster. The grease base , for me anyway; was a mess to to clean before blueing or etching. It stained my ivory too. I was using stuff I got from brownells eons ago.

Don;

I had the same problem. I actually used commercial parts cleaner for flux. Felt like kerosene and smelled like it too. I had black weld lines all around the edges. They all ground out but I am not used to seeing them there and can't say I liked it.

Mike

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Don, black lines that were "not welded" metal or ?

Mike

Like Mike W. found, the very edges of the billet didn't weld. I need to get some kerosene to compare, but I think the lamp oil is a refined kero. I also never have the black lines with borax. Maybe a soak in kero and just a little borax would be good?

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So, is the Casenite thing Ric Furrer did a welding flux or an anti-decarb-layer process or both?

Mike

Mike, Ric did the casenite thing first, just to add carbon. Then stacked the pices and welded into a billet with borax as a flux.

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Like Mike W. found, the very edges of the billet didn't weld. I need to get some kerosene to compare, but I think the lamp oil is a refined kero. I also never have the black lines with borax. Maybe a soak in kero and just a little borax would be good?

"Wiki" says lamp oil is exactly what you think... slightly more refined than K1 Kerosene. That should mean less soot with lamp oil and maybe with Mike William's parts cleaner, than K1.

If you try regular kerosene, I'd like to hear about it.

I understand using kerosene in cans is at least a little different than this but I've not heard of folks having near-surface black lines... not that I've heard everything, mind you.

Mike