Abstract: A metal rod is supplied to a pair of bonding rolls provided with peripheral grooves forming a substantially circular roll pass that also receives at opposite sides of the rod a pair of metal strips of a different metal than that of the rod. The rolls press the strips against the rod and pull all three together through the roll pass, with the strips bent around the rod to enclose it. Before the strips reach the pass, an electric current passes through a length of each one to heat it to a solid-phase bonding temperature and to burn off contaminants. Also, before the rod reaches the rolls, it is heated to a solid-phase bonding temperature by means of an electric induction coil encircling it while it is passing through an enclosure maintained full of a gas providing a controlled atmosphere around the heated portion of the rod. The diameter of the roll pass is small enough to reduce the diameter of the product therein and simultaneously cause solid-phase bonding together of the heated strips and heated rod.