Spent 3 hours trying to fix a forge weld that kept failing because my flux was damp

Ngl I felt pretty dumb after I figured it out. I kept getting cold shuts and weak joints, cleaned everything, checked my heat, even adjusted my hammer blows. Turns out the borax I had been using had been sitting open in my garage for like 6 months and absorbed too much moisture. Swapped to a fresh sealed container and first weld held perfect. Anyone else run into a dumb simple fix that took way too long to realize?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_sanchez15d ago

Yeah the "damp flux" thing got me too a while back. Now I keep my borax in a sealed mason jar with a couple silica packs.

angelas7815d ago

Silica packs won't really help with borax though... borax doesn't absorb moisture from the air like flux does. It's already a hydrate, meaning it has water locked into its crystal structure. That dampness you see is actually the borax breaking down into boric acid over time if it gets too warm or humid. Better to just keep it in a cool dark spot with the lid tight, no silica needed.