iris_mason88•2mo ago

Had a forge weld fail on a big gate hinge last week in my shop... the steel just wouldn't stick. I tried flux and more heat, but it was a mess. Debating if I should have just started over with fresh stock or kept trying to save it.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lisa2mo ago

Used to fight with bad welds for hours. Now I just cut my losses and grab new steel.

holly_williams14d agoProlific Poster

Ha yeah @the_lisa I feel that. I heard some old timer welder say once that "you can't fix bad steel with good heat" and it stuck with me. Been there too many times with some rusted out junk I tried to save on an exhaust pipe. Kept laying beads and they just looked like crap no matter what I did. Finally gave up and grabbed a fresh piece of 16 gauge and it welded up perfect first try. Some metal just has too much garbage in it from age or whatever.

iris3942mo ago

Cutting your losses is the only way. I wasted a whole afternoon once trying to save a messed up weld on a trailer hitch. The metal was just burnt and grainy, no amount of beating would fix it. Threw it in the scrap pile, started over with a clean piece, and had it done in twenty minutes. Sometimes the steel is just done.