The forge slag is stripped with a wire cup wheel on an angle grinder.    You must be careful when working near the points or the brush will grab the work and fling it across the shop or into you!   Here I'm working on a 6 foot long bonfire poker made with 1/2 inch stock.

The point of the haft is ground to a welding bevel with the bench grinder.    Then the pieces are carefully aligned on the flat anvil before welding.

Oxy-acetylene equipment and copper-coated steel filler rod are used in gas welding.    First the pieces to be joined are warmed to a yellow hot state.

Once the pieces are hot, the flame is moved closer to the work and the steel begins to melt.    The filler rod is moved in and allowed to flow into the melted areas.    The melt must be maintained as the flame and rod are moved around the joint.

After each side is welded, the work is moved to the anvil and the weld is smoothed and shaped with the hammer.   Once a solid joint is completed, it gets a final quench.    This hardens the joint to a very hard but brittle state which must be tempered during the final finishing step.

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