Tried welding up a forge from an old brake drum and it cracked on first heat

I found a thick brake drum at the scrap yard here in Tucson and spent a whole Sunday drilling and welding a firepot into it. Fired it up with my coal forge blower and within 10 minutes a hairline crack ran right down the side I welded. Guess I didn't preheat the drum enough before welding or used the wrong rod. Has anyone else tried making a forge from scrap and had it fall apart on you?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden72020d ago

That 90 percent of the time you try to save a buck on something, you end up spending more time and frustration than if you just bought the right thing from the start. I've seen that pattern with car repairs, home projects, even cooking gear where people weld up a grill from scrap metal that rusts through in a year. Kind of makes you wonder if the real cost isn't always the money, but the hours of rework you didn't plan for.

rowanjenkins20d ago

Popped a weld on my first brake drum forge back in '08. Was out in the shed around midnight, tired, running some 6013 rod way too cold. Got a nice little fire going, threw in a railroad spike, and then a loud ping sound. Crack ran right along the weld seam and the whole thing just kind of sighed and settled crooked. I just sat there staring at it for a good five minutes. Ended up taking the whole mess to a guy who had a stick welder that could actually push enough amps. He welded it up hot and it held for years after. Pretty sure I was just using a crappy little Harbor Freight buzz box that couldn't even burn a rod right.