Cast Iron SMAW

Date 06-30-2003 18:36

I would like to have assistance from those who have used electrodes from Magna Ind. Mfg. their number 770. According to their website and the site of a saleman in Florida (MuggyWeld) these rods allow continuous welding on cast iron with no preheat and no CRACKING. This is difficult for me to accept, but if true would be ideal for a big salvage job I have to perform on an engine block. What say you? Are these rods really special and different? The price is certainly out of this world! Thanks, JWL

By Niekie3 (***)

Date 07-03-2003 19:43

Hi JWL

I do not know the electrodes, but I will guess that the manufacturer will not give you a specification or chemical composition on them. If this is the case, then I believe that you will be overcharged for very standard electrodes. From the description, I would guess that they are probably ENi-CI electrodes. (There are welding consumable manufacturers that specialize in producing electrodes that are not sold to any specifications or without supplying any technical literature regarding their chemical composition. They are merely marketed as some "magical, supper dooper, highly secret" electrodes. Usually they are standard stuff that works rather well under most circumstances, that they now sell at a heafty mark-up. Typically the electrodes are 29-9 and Ni based cast iron rods.)

Remember, that if you are WELDING, then you are melting the base metal which will give you a hardened HAZ in the cast iron base metal, irrespective of the filler used. This is where your problem will lie, not in the weld metal.

Regards
Niekie Jooste
Fabristruct Solutions

By flatjwl (*)

Date 07-04-2003 03:15

Thanks for the response Niekie. You are correct that it is impossible to get specific infomation about these Magna electrodes. And at about $100 per pound there should be volumes of documentation available. One supplier told me Caterpillar is their largest buyer, but I don't know whether that is important to my situation? I guess I'll stay with the old $15 per pound nickle rods.

Regards,
JWL

By brande

Date 07-04-2003 06:33

I'll bet Caterpillar has the specs.

Seriously, though, a good nickel 55 should take care of your engine block problems. (Nickel 99 isn't the greatest on heavier castings)
There are basic and advanced formulations of this rod. Buy the best you can afford.

Weld a couple of inches. if the weld area is too hot for the bare hand, take a break. You want to keep the heat below 200 deg. F

Don't be afraid to grind out a porous or inferior weld. It can take a few passes to get it right.

Also, don't be afraid to charge for this extra.
Hope this helps...
Good Luck
brande