Blacksmith Steel Forging Borax Flux - Anhydrous (Dehydrated) Earth Mined Purified Borax


200g (7oz) of Dehydrated Borax Flux Powder


Formula: Na2B4O7

 


     A highly concentrated source of Boric Oxide (Not to be confused with Boric Acid) for glazing crucibles, fluxing (Reduce to Glass-like state) silica based clay bodies for a desirable glazed or even sealed surface. If fluxing is extensive enough the surface glazing can have the functional purpose of waterproofing a refractories surface exterior. This could be beneficial if it were to take place for example within a clay refractory insulated furnace. A how to can be found for this procedure involving borax used in a surface fluxing role within David J. Gingery's 8th Book, "Building a Gas Fired Crucible Furnace."
 

Other Applications & Elaborated Explanations:
  •   Forge-Welding activities in blacksmith shops use borax as a Flux to liquefy any oxides that may be present between the two surfaces of metal that are looking to be joined. Reducing the risk of trapped gasses (like air) by liquefying the present metal oxides, such as always prolific Iron oxide (the result of oxidized steel most likely in this case by exposure to the forge heat which would rapidly degrade said material, but only primarily on the surface due to the needed exposure of oxygen to cause oxidation) Now because steel's oxides liquefy at a temperature 20-40 degrees below that of the base metal and with borax added this gap pushes below 50 degrees C. The two liquedous surfaces then comes into contact with one another creating a melding of liquid metals and alloys (promotes bonding) and the liquid oxides continue to help forge the bond by creating a seal. With hammer strikes and greater pressure squeezing the joint tighter together excess gasses are forced out from the tightening Fit-up and the liquid state of the oxides prevents any further opportunity for oxygen to degrade the quality of the forged joint, no matter whether by oxidation or by creating air gaps, also known as voids within the joint
  •   Gold Refining additive as an oxide promoting component most commonly in the assay process.

  • Summary of above procedure: Long story short, Forging Applications are the primary means for which it is used.
    Borax is used to increase the quality of forge welded joint and to lower the probability of joint defects in such practices.


Anhydrous Borax is the modified (Dehydrated) granular molecule of the naturally occurring chemical Borax, 200 Grams (Equal to 7 Ounces) of this Dehydrated Borax is being offer in this listing for the given price at the top of the page.


(100g is equal to 3.5 American Ounces)


This modified Borax Molecule is rendered by Kiln baking Powderized Chemical Grade Borax in an inert environment & at a high temperature, near it's melting point, for multiple hours. This is similar to the calcining procedures sometimes used to encourage a successful end result when the components to be mixed are resistant to the procedure due to trapped humidity within their granular molecules. Calcining the hydrated borax results in nearly a 1/3 loss of the cooked samples weight, lost by the release of the humidity saturated within the mixture of chemical granules.


Post Calcining: The Borax contains little or no water in its crystallized molecule (conversation ratio of .53 compared to hydrated Deca-hydrate Borax) and will not re-hydrate under normal storage conditions as a result of its molecular stability.


This material does not puff or swell during melting, thereby melting easier than other forms of borax which can swell, and even become porous and structurally insulatory, thus resulting in inferior grades of borax exhibiting resistance to melting and causing drastic increases in time and thermal energy to achieve glazing.

 

In comparison, Anhydrous borax is an excellent Fluxing Agent, that does not puff or swell during its melting at said temperature, thus resulting in fewer weld joint production problems. This equated to a higher product production success rate in terms of end product the smith wishes to consistently produce to the spec.




Potential System Glitches when Checking-Out
     - If Encountered READ HERE

      *Please, if the eBay system gives any errors relating to shipping costs, please add product to your cart & then navigate to you Cart page. Alternatively if only purchase the product straight from the listing, then proceed to the Purchase Confirmation page that follows.
        This is where the system may start to go a little sideways, such as disallowing completion of the purchase due to things errors that are outside of your control.
        If this describes the situation that a buyer may find themselves in, Don't worry! Just click on the drop down options tab and select the option to "Request an invoice total from seller", sometimes also phrased "Request Total from Seller."
        Then myself, the seller, will fill in the information the system was having trouble with. After which an invoice will arrive within a message with a link that will bypass the system errors and take buyers directly to the purchase overview page, to review the shipping and product costs. And if the costs detailed are acceptable, then proceed to the next page for the purchase confirmation. 

However, If the resulting shipping costs detailed within the invoice are deemed unreasonable, then please feel free to request that the order be cancelled, and a brief elaboration would be greatly appreciate.
But upon receiving the request to cancel, I will confirm. And that's that.
 
BTW. I always select the cheapest shipping method, unless i receive a message directing otherwise from the buyer.