Borium

For those of you who use 1/4" - 5/16" borium, what pressure do you have your oxy/acetelene tanks set at? Also, what size tip do you like to use? I've been using a No. 3 tip with my oxy at about 8 pounds and acetelene around 4 but I'm still getting a bit of porosity. I'm wondering if a larger tip with less pressure would be better.

Use whatever pressure you need to get a neutral flame. The rest is technique.

I never had to use Borium

Got a set of driving horses I use it on their shoes, Driltek. I use my forge for application. But like Tom said, get the proper flame and go from there.

If you dident use Borium what would you use?

what is borium used for ?

Driltek is a brass rod with particles imbedded. Used widely in the states, especially by the Amish on their horses so shoes don't wear out so fast because of all the road work.
The guy's horses I use it on drives a lot on pavement and shoes wouldn't hold up.

When I worked as a guide, we'd get borium welding rod and apply it to our horses shoes to make them last. If no on, I would wear out a set of shoes in three weeks or so. With the borium on I could get 6 -7 weeks.

I could get the 6/7 weeks out of the drivers i use to do
what section do you use

A couple of tricks with the brass type is to heat the shoe in the forge, rasp or grind off the scale, leaving the spot to be brazed very rough for a good grip, apply borax or other flux. Then with a stick of brazing rod, put a small puddle of brass ("tinning") to receive the Drilltec. A larger tip with a smaller flame gives less pressure makes the work a bit easier.
The type in the steel tube is a bit harder, but all the principals are the same, just no tinning or brass.

There is a lot of technique involved, my oxy pressures are barely registered on the gauge when I put on borium, maybe 1 or 2 marks past the peg. Acetylene pressure May be up around 15. Too much oxy will usually result in a lot of popping and make it very hard to shape it up, and waste borium. The flame usually looks like a crown with three distinct blue points. I put on close to twenty pounds a year and can actually do a set faster than I can drill and drive studs, as long as the shoes are all preheated.

if i'm doing studs Jim i punch them
you can punch both heels in one heat
it dont take long

Do you also punch the holes that you are going to tap for screw in studs? Almost every horse on my book wears studs, as they are mostly 3 day horses and I have never punched a stud hole. I just wondered if you punch them how do you deal with countersinking.

I punch 'em too. Both holes in one heat.
What do you mean by 'how do you deal with countersinking'?

Gary, my drills are fitted with countersinks so the threads are well below the ground surface, which keeps the the starter threads from getting buggered up. I just wondered on a punched hole how that was accomplished.

Wow your brave!!! You do know that acetylene above 15 pounds can create a nuclear explosion. That is why the gauge has a red line.

You need a bigger tip if you have to run that much psi. I've cut 2 inch plus thick steel with 8 lbs. it's not about psi it's about flame adjustment.

You wouldn't get that out of majority of the drivers around here without borium.

It's also about traction, you have to use different types according to the primary surface the horse travels.

Thanks for the help all. I think I'll try the larger tip and turn the pressure(s) down a bit. I'm using it on horses for an outfitter who uses them on lots of granite, and as Mikel stated above, without the borium the shoes will be worn out in 3 weeks max.

If you're using for an outfitter, if you have the possibility of stick welder, get some borium rod. When I worked in the Salmon River Wilderness Area as a guide, this is what we did. Shaped the shoe, then welded a bead around the toe from second nail hole to second nail hole, then put a double bead on the heels. Really worked good.