That $600 forge welding kit I laughed at actually works

I was dead set against those pre-made flux packs and fancy tongs. Seemed like a total gimmick. But after ruining my fourth billet trying to weld canister Damascus, I grabbed a kit from Dark Iron Forge. First try came out solid. No voids. No delamination. Has anyone else caved and bought a kit they thought was overpriced?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicew6810d ago

Bought the same kit about two months ago after swearing I'd never waste money on something I could mix myself. Turned out my homemade flux was leaving too much scale and the tongs I had were just slightly off on the angle. First billet after using the kit laid down perfect layers with zero cold shuts. Still feel a little sheepish about it but the results speak for themselves.

keithbennett10d ago

alicew68 I was the same way, swore up and down I'd just mix my own flux forever. Then I found out my homemade borax mix was basically making the steel look like a meteorite after welding. The kit flux has something in it that just works better, I guess. My wife got on my case about spending the money but now she's just happy the shop doesn't smell like burning everything. Still can't get over how clean those first layers came out compared to before.