Forge Welding

I was making some crosses last evening in preparation for Market Fair.  You can see some shots of these crosses in one of my recent posts here: http://blackforestironworks.blogspot.com/2010/06/beautiful-rustic-cross.html.

These crosses require some welding.  There are various techniques for welding (i.e. forge, MIG, Oxy-Acetylene), and I have taken a few classes in the various methods.

This is my Chile Forge "Tabasco" at full burn (~20 psi) ready to weld:

Last night, I forge-welded, which involves scarfing the two ends to be joined (tapering them to thin, flat ends which overlap), heating the metal to immediately below its melting point and using a powder called flux (borax) to impede oxidation and increase the chance that the weld will stick.  Once the two ends get to "white-hot" in the forge, the piece comes quickly out of the forge and is hammered together to make the weld.