Why does nobody talk about forge welding flux ratios?

I've been using straight borax for 5 years and just switched to a 70/30 borax and boric acid mix last month, and my welds are way cleaner - so why do most tutorials still push the old school all-borax method, and has anyone else experimented with different flux blends?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy_west1mo ago

Oh man, "way cleaner" is an understatement from what I've seen. I tried that same 70/30 blend after years of straight borax and it was like night and day for me too. It's weird how the old school guys act like anything other than pure borax is some kind of heresy when the science is right there. I think a lot of those tutorials are just parroting what their grandpas taught them without ever testing other options. I've been messing with a 60/40 mix lately and it seems to flow even better on deeper joints, but I'm still tweaking it.

claire_davis311mo ago

Read something similar in a welding forum, @amy_west, about how flux ratios matter way more than people give credit.

robert6591mo ago

Guilty as charged, I used to swear by straight borax too. That 70/30 blend completely flipped my thinking on it though, you seen any issues with porosity using the 60/40?