A Blacksmith's Dictionary, Fire Inlay , Or how to add Copper , Brass, or Silver to your work

Blacksmith Daniel Tokar demonstrates how to fire inlay copper .One of the methods used to inlay softer metals into steel or iron . Punching or cutting a design into the steel then filling it with melted metal then removing the excess inlay metal. This is an old way, and my demo shows the simplest early way without using modern tools.
The first picture is of a ladle handle I made in 1989. The whole ladle is pictured in the gallery on my web site.
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Also started to try redbubble ,look.
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[@claytonhawkins5711]

best blacksmithing youtube channel out there by far.

[@kristibbradshaw]

We can see it. It's beautiful. Thank you.

[@paradisefalls37]

Thank you for posting this video, I always learn a lot from watching! Fantastic teaching as always!

[@brysonalden5414]

Sam Towns sent me the link to this, and I thank you both! This is exactly what I want to do, and now I know it can be done!

[@danieltokar1000]

Great, good to hear these videos are helping people with their projects. Daniel

[@pivers01]

Thank you for sharing this. As someone who has grown up welding and brazing, I don’t think that I would have ever thought to do this. The ideas that popped into my head watching this excite me beyond comprehension!

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: I try to demo the simplest case , enough to give the idea, and people can have the fun of working out their own use. People come up with surprising things. Example , some of the stars on the ladle handle were punched with torx bits and cut off reamers. Daniel

[@dennyjudson2165]

You just keep doing all of the things I wanted to know!

[@samuelmellars7855]

Brilliant! I've been looking at doing inlays, mainly on finished work, by engraving lines, undercutting and then laying wire in. This is good way of doing similar work, and far easier! Thank you so much! One note. When cold filing something at the vice, if it squeals, adding a cheap plastic spring clamp (think large clothes peg) to the end you aren't working often deadens the sound. Far nicer on the ears, and if you are recording it will help with clarity.

[@danieltokar1000]

Thanks, hope your projects go well. Daniel

[@DogsaladSalad]

thank you! ive been meaning to try this, now ill do it tomorrow instead of "sometime"

[@ss5gogetunks]

This is a really cool technique, I'm gonna try this!

[@daves3720]

Too cool!

[@drason69]

Very amazing! Nicely done Sir 👍

[@valsforge4318]

Again, revisiting...thanks for a cool technique.

[@leahannwhite1111]

👍💓!

[@thedavidwalker]

As always amazing content. Thank you so much for contributing so much to the blacksmithing community! Does the flux just keep the forge scale out to let the copper best adhere to the steel? Also is it just Mule Borax for the flux?

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: There is scale in the punched design, just from being made hot so the flux dissolves the scale to allow the melted metal to make contact. I used 20 mule teem borax but any brazing flux would work. Daniel

[@andrewjaye2981]

Excellent video. I love this type of work. How difficult was it to make the punch? Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Happy Holidays.

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: That should be another video. Some punches take 5 min. others I worked on for days. Size, complexity all make a difference. The heart punch was filed out of a softened section of car trunk spring. Maybe 15 min on that one. Daniel

[@andrewjaye2981]

@@danieltokar1000 Thanks, I look forward to that lesson.

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

That is awesome. I didn’t think you could do that without filing/sanding the steel free of oxides. Could you do a video of brazing in the fire? I’m very intrigued on how they did that without scaling up an otherwise almost finished piece

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: Sure , did you have some example of brazing you wanted to do? There were a couple different methods that were used on different sorts of work. It would be worth showing some of each to show the reason why they had the different types. Daniel

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

@@danieltokar1000 I had no idea! That sounds like an excellent video idea! I was wondering how they brazed things like sights and lugs for stock pins on musket/rifle barrels without messing up all the work they’ve done previous in specific

[@shanek6582]

Can you do that with pure silver or gold? Thanks

[@danieltokar1000]

Yes, I have done silver , gold , brass, bronze and copper Pewter , lead , zinc could work at lower temperatures , but they would need to have the black iron scale removed with acid first and heat blue would not work out with them as the blue temp is higher than their melting points Aluminum will not work , as it will not "wet" steel. Platinum will not work because it's melting point is higher than steel. The Japanese copper alloys would work Daniel

[@shanek6582]

@@danieltokar1000 thanks man

[@dmrsinclair]

Brilliant!

[@hannemannironworks1651]

Very cool Daniel!

[@jeffripley9062]

Such good content on this criminally undersubscribed channel! Thanks so much, Daniel.

[@msgear7485]

That is so cool. Thank you for the demonstration.

[@samnottheotherone4363]

Very impressive, do you think this is possible in a gas forge?

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: Any heat source that has enough BTU's. I have done it with torches. As long as you can get it hot without burning it up with excess oxygen. Using letter and number punches work cold and you can fill them with a torch used for brazing, the same as if you were brazing parts together.I should have put that in the video. Daniel

[@samnottheotherone4363]

@@danieltokar1000 Thank you, I have an acetylene torch so that makes it a lot easier.

[@Toontownluver1041]

Curious if this would work with blades?

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: A qualified yes. Heat treatment of tool steels is a very wide topic, same with melting points of copper , silver and other alloys. If the blades maximum temperature in heat treatment is lower than the melting point of the inlay metal it will work most of the time. There can still be problems with things like diffusion imbrittlement . That is when atoms of a lower melting point metal move into the boundaries of the grains and bad things happen. Normally that requires prolonged heating that you should not be doing to a blade anyway. Daniel Tokar

[@TheRightWingNut]

Do you find these punches need to be undercut at all or is it essentially braised in?

[@danieltokar1000]

Hi: They are brazed in, no undercut. I have made pockets for inlay with hot punching and cold cutting an undercut for metals that don't braze to steel , like aluminum , titanium and tantalum . Also have done hot punched pockets for other inlay material like mother of pearl or epoxy resins. Daniel

[@Sephicito]

looks great, i've always thought on doing this but never tried it. thanks for sharing