摘要:
According to the present invention, a rear end portion of a preceding metal piece and a front end portion of a subsequent metal piece are heated, pressed and joined prior to the finishing hot rolling thereof, by placing the two metal pieces so that the rear end portion of the preceding metal piece and the front end portion of the subsequent metal piece are spaced from and opposed to each other, heating the metal pieces with an alternating field, which passes through the metal pieces in the direction of the thickness thereof, generated in the opposed surface-side end regions of the metal pieces, and partially generating an alternating field, which extends in the direction opposite to the direction in which the previously-mentioned alternating field extends, in the opposed surface-side end regions which agree with either metal piece-existing regions or regions outside of the widthwise ends of the metal pieces, whereby the whole of widthwise parts of the opposed surface-side end regions of the metal pieces are heated uniformly to enable the two metal pieces to be joined reliably.