Tried forge welding with a wire brush still on my anvil - big mistake

I was working on a damascus billet last Tuesday and forgot to clean my anvil face before starting the weld. That wire brush left tiny steel fibers all over the surface. Ended up with inclusions in 3 layers and had to grind the whole thing down and start over. Took me 4 hours to fix what should have been a 30 minute weld. Anyone else wreck a project from a simple cleanup oversight?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_carter18d ago

Ah man, "wire brush still on my anvil" - that hits close to home. I did the exact same thing two years ago on a San Mai billet, except my brush was one of those cheap brass ones that sheds fibers like a shedding dog. Ended up with brass inclusions that looked like glitter in the final polish, which sounds neat but actually ruined the structural integrity. Had to cut the billet into three pieces and forge weld them separately just to salvage the material. The worst part is how stupid you feel standing there wondering why your weld isn't taking, then you look at the anvil and see the mess you made. I started keeping a dedicated clean rag just for wiping the anvil face between different operations after that nightmare.

lily_singh218d ago

My buddy Dan once found a stray bristle in a billet and chased that same glittery nightmare for three hours, @william_carter.

sarah53118d agoMost Upvoted

I gotta push back a little on the idea that a dedicated clean rag solves this entirely. It's not just about keeping the anvil clean, it's about how you set up your whole workflow. If you're switching between a wire brush and a billet without giving the anvil a full wipe down and checking your brush for loose bristles first, you're just asking for trouble. The cheap brass brushes are the worst offenders, but even a good one sheds over time if you're not storing it properly. I've seen guys keep their brushes hanging covered in grime and then wonder why they're chasing glitter. You've got to inspect the brush itself before every use and replace it the second you see any looseness. Are you checking the bristles themselves before you start working?