Subject: Re: WANTED: How to WELD CAST IRON

From: Mike Rehmus <[email-masked]>
Date: 22 Mar 1995 17:48:51 GMT

The easiest and cheapest way to heat up a casting is to put it
in a barbque or a pit in the ground.  You certainly are not going
to hurt the casting with charcoal which you might with a torch if
you overconcentrate the heat.

mike

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From: [email-masked] (Dion Hollenbeck)
Date: 21 Mar 1995 13:31:06 -0800

>>>>> "Ed" == Ed Richley <[email-masked]> writes:

Ed> Alternatively, there is (supposedly) a way to preheat the casting,
Ed> but I didn't have a large furnace.

I have heard (not done) that one can heat the casting to the proper
temp with a oxy/acetylene torch with a rosebud tip and then MIG weld
it.  Don't know any specifics.

dion

-- 
Dion Hollenbeck (619)675-4000x2814     Email: [email-masked]
Staff Software Engineer     Megatek Corporation, San Diego, California

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From: [email-masked] (Ed Richley)
Date: 20 Mar 1995 16:29:59 GMT

I've just recently been doing some nickel welding on cast iron. It's not
trivial, at least with an AC welder, but it's not terribly difficult, either.
I'm just now getting the hang of it (now that I'm done...). I used
Ni-99 rods because I needed machinability. There are also Ni-Fe rods,
which are less expensive but not machinable. The difficult part is patience.
You really have to let the casting cool down between passes, to prevent 
stress cracking and hardening. I don't exactly understand why this is the
case, but it seems to be true. Alternatively, there is (supposedly) a
way to preheat the casting, but I didn't have a large furnace. 

Also, there was an article in HSM (Jan/Feb 1991) about this. If anyone
needs this, I can copy it.

I'd like to hear anyone else's results.

Ed