Lengthing A Short Tang

[brennivs - tony drake]

The heating bit
The metal I am using is 3/4" wide by 1/4" thick , so it is wider than most tangs if yours is thinner it will heat up much faster.

Start heating the work up it will take a little over 5 mins before you put the rod on.

Once the the work has reached a good red heat, start to apply the rod. the flux will start to bubble and melt off the rod onto the joint, run the rod along the joint to deposit flux so the brass can run into it. As the rod heats up the rod will melt if the metal is hot enough it will run like solder if it just forms a small brass ball the metal is just not hot enough yet just keep the heat on and it will soon flow Footnote the hottest part of the flame is right at tip of the blue flame dont put the torch to close to the work.
Once you have done one side turn over and braze the other joint once the brass is flowing run the rod along the side seam, on both sides.Keep the heat on after you finished with the rod and check that the braze has completely run into joint ,dont worry if you have put to much braze on it can be ground off.

This is what you are left with ,let it air cool of for a good 5 mins and take it of the fire bricks straight away the melted flux will glue the job onto the firebricks :lol: after that if you want you can cool in water.
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

This what you are left with

This is it clean up .It was a bit difficult to braze and take a pic at the same time so I hope they have come out good enough for you D
Regards Brennivs

[M. Demetrius]

Another cheap flux is plain old laundry department 20 Mule Team (brand name in the US) crystaline borax. Wet the brass rod, dip it in borax. Instant very cheap flux. In my area, a 1 1/2 lb (300 g) box costs about 3 USD. Lasts a long time if you don't spill it on the cat. Works for iron wire and brass wire, I suppose other metals, but I haven't tried others for torch welding/brazing.

[brennivs - tony drake]

Thanks for that one Demetrivs
Regards Brennivs

[sulla felix]

Thanks Brennivs - another masterclass!

[Conal]

This does have some historical presidence as one of the Danish bog swords was "fixed" just like this (not the blow torch bit of course 8) )

[brennivs - tony drake]

Conal great, if you have any info on this I would love to see D
I am glad it was of use Svlla
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

The next method I will show is how to weld a tang on But it may be next week before I can do this D
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

I will write this up before I do the welding.
The types of welding avalible are:
MMA. Manual metal arc ,these use a flux coated rod that can weld many types of metal steel,alu,stainless,brass ect. They use a electric current which in turn burns away the rod and deposits metal along the join.The flux produces a gas which protects the weld pool and forms a black slag which protects the weld as it cools.This can then be hammered of.

MIG metal inert gas, uses a wire feed system and a inert gas shield no good in draftey places. Again can weld the same metal as above with different gases.

MAG. metal activated gas, same wire fed system but the wire has a flux core this is normaly used for high temprature welding ,and yes my leather gloves did catch light using this method in the ship yards :lol: :lol:

TIG. tungstan inert gas, this one I love basically "gas welding with electric" A tungstan rod sharpned to a point sends a current onto the work piece and forms a weld pool, and a filler rod is then melted to fill the weld pool up.

OXY/ACETYLENE. gas welding using oxygen and acetylene, a fine nozzle lit to produce a high temprature flame to produce a weld pool and then filled in with a rod.

For the work I am doing I will use MMA . The machine I will use has a amperage of 60-100 amps this is all you need for this type of work I will post pics of the different stages equipment, tools,jigs ect.This is a little more difficult than brazing, but if you can just master the down hand weld it will help you for more than just Roman kit
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

The first part is the kit

These are the two welders I have the left one is a MIG and the other is MMA/stick welder which is th one I am useing.

You will also need a mask ,a chipping hammer and wire brush.

These are the different size rods 1.6-4mm I will be useing a 2mm rod.The rods are a general purpose rod used on mild steel and can be bought from most shops.
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

Next prep the blade and new piece of tang,I would draw a centre line on the sword tang and one on the new piece of metal this will help align while clamping.

The top one is before grinding.The bottom one I have used a wide grind one both edges this may be better to weld if its your first time at it.

To clamp your blade down I have a heavy angle iron as a straight face plate to do this .This is were the centre line comes in as it will help you keep the tang as straight as possible.

This is a 1.5mm gap I have left in the join if you want you could close the gap up to weld,then when you turn it over you can file back to clean metal.
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

The next step the welding .The power I will be useing is 70-80 amps ,now when you strike the arc it will have a aprox 200 amp spike to start the rod off.If the rod does not burn it could beyou dont have enough juice to burn .As with most things try on a piece of metal first to get the hang of it. Be careful of the arc you dont want a flash so wear glasses as well as the mask and keep people out of the way.I had one and it has left a burn bellow my left eye ,which people keep asking,
" have you been fighting" :lol:

The top shows the root weld keep the rod on moving from side to side. when you finish nock of the black slag and wire brush.
The next run is the fill again as above move from side to side.
The cap run is as above but pause at the edges to catch the edge of the join so the rod can fill up with weld.
Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

You can grind the weld flush or use spacers to lift the tang up.

The next step is as before, except the root may need filing back to clean metal. If there is any slag in the weld remove and weld as before.

Regards Brennivs

[brennivs - tony drake]

Once both sides are welded you can grind and file the weld down to smooth metal be careful not to grind down bellow the surface of the metal and filling it flush might be better to finish with.

I know this is a more complicated way to do it, but with a little practice it can be done. You may not be able to weld ships but it may help you with many jobs were welding can do a better job.If you have any :?: please ask ,it is difficult to know what to put down. I hope this has been some help
Regards Brennivs

[C. Apollonius Priscus]

Nice description and photos. Welding is on my list of things to learn. Laudes!