Welding Cast Iron

[dannyp]

cast is funny stuff, some of it welds just fine with stainless wire in a mig. then goes through various grades of trickyness through to near on inpossible.

as mentioned above i've found welding it cold ( sometimes just takeing the chill off seems to help but just warm to touch at most ) with the best rods you can get is generaly the best way to go. if that fails preheat can help but there is no half measures getting big parts hot enough is a challenge, one of the few times when the forge gets called on.

 

[Rrunnach]

I have a repair to do, component part (broken) from a 20's Bentley, will be cold welding using 60/40 rods.

I too, have the long square gas welding rods for cast. Mainly now used for tomato plants and, rows of French beans, such a waste!

 

[Kent]

and kids were up chimneys, ponies down the pit and rickets was rife...........

Not doubting your experience, but how many times have you seen a milling machine broken into two halves across the neck put back together and produce good enough work using stick? often this machine was skimming cast engines that had been gas welded with gas. Seemed to work I never saw anyone come back in anyhow with a failure in the years I worked there, so perhaps its just a little unfair to doubt his "old ways" ? Such people and such ways are now lost, he was actually a real grump pot but used to come up with ways of sorting stuff that made us all think "why didn't I know that?" You see your talking about a generation that had ponies down the pit yes but no angle grinders to cover over errors, I hear rickets is on the rise again in the UK so how far have we actually come?

 

[TechnicAl]

Kent............I dont intend to get into an argument

You are entitled to believe whatever you want to believe

I post in an attempt to help people you either accept my help or you dont

 

[roofman]

The purists are going to laugh there socks off at this but i have an old cast Bench drill that had a crack right across the base and it was destined for the skip so i had nothing to lose...crank the mig up to 200amp,grind a deep Vee into the crack and fire 1mm wire at it front and back....it still is fine to this day not pretty but still fine.

 

[TechnicAl]

Roofman....its either not Cast Iron but Cast Steel or its a readily weldable Cast Iron. These things happen but you were probably lucky. When your giving advise to someone you have to be sure.

 

[PhillipM]

Years of experience unfortunately don't trump chemistry. Case in point with a milling machine is it's generally far, far stronger then it needs to be in order to get sufficient rigidity for precision work. So his weld could have been far under strength and you would have never known until someone dropped it again.

 

[Kent]

Years of experience unfortunately don't trump chemistry. Case in point with a milling machine is it's generally far, far stronger then it needs to be in order to get sufficient rigidity for precision work. So his weld could have been far under strength and you would have never known until someone dropped it again.

You mean metallurgy? In that case you might well be wrong because there are still processes we cannot fully replicate from the past yet

 

[roofman]

Roofman....its either not Cast Iron but Cast Steel or its a readily weldable Cast Iron. These things happen but you were probably lucky. When your giving advise to someone you have to be sure.

It is cast iron and ime sure iff dropped on its corner it would give up but as a way of stitching a bit of strentgh back in then it seems fine...big bodge but better than seeing it upside down in the skip

 

[wyn]

I did a bit of a repair on an old cast iron bench that was broken in half today with some of those "cold welding" ferro-Ni rods and it went very well....Plenty of peening and it seemed to stick it together nicely.

 

[brightspark]

i built a worn bed up on my donkey saw with cast iron leccy welding rods 40 years ago just layed them on cold and ground it up when finished /no info then. i just got em given set the welder to 90 amps and away i went a nice job as well

 

[premmington]

The purists are going to laugh there socks off at this but i have an old cast Bench drill that had a crack right across the base and it was destined for the skip so i had nothing to lose...crank the mig up to 200amp,grind a deep Vee into the crack and fire 1mm wire at it front and back....it still is fine to this day not pretty but still fine.

While I would cringe at the following! My brother does the same as you with broken vices. A18 1.0mm mig wire, grinds a deep V. Fires a run in with monster amps! Lets it cool, fires another run in! Till it is full up! Seems to work for him too...

 

[anto44]

I've cut the arm that the track rod end bolts to off cast car hubs shortened them and welded them back on again with the mig many times and never had a problem

 

[Paul.]

I've cut the arm that the track rod end bolts to off cast car hubs shortened them and welded them back on again with the mig many times and never had a problem

If they are cast, they are almost certainly a cast steel, many suspension components are forged

 

[premmington]

I've cut the arm that the track rod end bolts to off cast car hubs shortened them and welded them back on again with the mig many times and never had a problem

Welded suspension and steering components fail MOTS now. Even evidence of heating can be a reason for rejection.

(out with the matt black spray paint maybe?)

 

[Rig Pig]

While I would cringe at the following! My brother does the same as you with broken vices. A18 1.0mm mig wire, grinds a deep V. Fires a run in with monster amps! Lets it cool, fires another run in! Till it is full up! Seems to work for him too...

I tried that with an old Record vice it looked okay till is started to cool then it cracked down the side of the weld.

 

[Tigman]

Here a cast iron figurine of Wellington I found in the workshop some 25 years ago, found the body first , then six months later found the base with the feet on it but no sword , got to welding it and put an oxy acety cast rod in place of the missing sword , painted it as it is , then the kids knocked it over and it cracked again , welded it but never finished it you can see the weld at the back and the welding rod to replace the sword dragged him out of the airing cupboard , hes gonna stand next to my wood burner from now on

 

[TechnicAl]

He looks a bit gay.........."Im a little teapot"

 

[roofman]

He looks a bit gay.........."Im a little teapot"

 

[Tigman]

He`s got a big nose !