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Finally got a clean weld on that mild steel to wrought iron join
I've been fighting with a repair job on an old farm gate for about three weeks now. The main issue was getting a solid weld between the new mild steel bar and the original wrought iron upright without it cracking. I must have ground out and re-welded the same six inch section five times, trying different pre-heat temps and rods. What finally worked was keeping my oxy-acetylene torch on the wrought iron piece for a full two minutes before even striking an arc with the 7018. Has anyone else found a better method for these old iron mixes?
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jordanh316mo ago
Honestly, is the pre-heat really that big of a deal for a farm gate? I get it for something that needs to hold pressure, but that's just a patch job. In my experience, you can usually just crank the heat, run a fast bead with a 6011 to dig in, and call it good. It might not look pretty, but it'll hold for another twenty years. Spending two minutes with a torch before each weld sounds like overkill for something that's just going to get rained on and kicked by cows.
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theawest6mo ago
Isn't it funny how we'll skip the prep work for the small stuff, then wonder why it fails? We do it everywhere, like not cleaning a cut because it's "just a scratch" or not reading the terms because it's "just an app." That gate weld is the same idea. Sure, your quick bead might hold, but that two minutes with a torch is what makes sure it does. Why do we always think the basic step is the one we can skip?
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zara_hill466mo ago
Tell me about it. I'm the queen of skipping the prep step and then wondering why my quick fix fell apart five minutes later.
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