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?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordanh3128d 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.

theawest28d 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?

zara_hill4627d 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.