Hi, all,
I am going to weld a railing and have a bunch of scrap to use for the ballusters (sp?). I don't have any idea, though, what kind of steel it is. It might even be wrought iron -- although I doubt it. And the other posts about distinguishing wrought iron by the grinding sparks might help. What I am wondering, though, is if I can just weld 'er up, anyway, using the same (TIG) rod that I would on mild steel. I mean, what happens if you weld different steels together. It isn't like this is a trailer hitch or something, so if it breaks it won't be the end of the world, but it'd be nice not to go through all the effort if it is totally futile.
On a related note, I welded up a trellis for my wife a few months back and accidentally grabbed some silicon bronze rod. I was making the trellis out of rebar (the silicon bronze didn't flow quite right -- required a bit more heat to get the puddle together). Durned if that thing isn't still standing just fine. Don't tell, though, OK, guys?
Chris
If by "railing" you mean railroad tracks, no, you can't ignore the carbon content. Tracks aren't made of mild steel nor wrought iron, they're made of medium carbon steel, with a carbon content of 0.4 percent or so. Its behavior during welding is different from low carbon (mild) steel.
Some time ago there was a question on this same site (I don't remember whether on the Shop Talk or Technical section) regarding welding of rails. You could take some minutes of time to search it up.
Giovanni S. Crisi
Sao Paulo - Brazil
It's baluster- The vertical pieces that support a handrail (so this is a handrail). If anybody cares a ballister is a crossbow. Credit to the gnu dictionary.
Bill
WEBSTER :Baluster: an object or vertical member (as the leg of a table, a round in a chair back, or the stem of a glass)
RonG: Made of low Carbon AKA mild steel. Carbon content is signifcantly low as to not be a factor in welding.
Bill, Did you mean Ballista? Thats where we get the word Ballistic (as in missile) from. You must have not have ever played "War Craft" on your PC.
Thank you gentlemen, I've learned something new. I mixed up the handrails with railroad tracks because I didn't know the meaning of the word "baluster". After all, English is not my mother language.
Now I'll ask another question. What does AKA mean?
Giovanni s. Crisi
AKA is an acronym for "also known as". We used to hear that a lot on the old cops and robbers TV programs.
Chet
A ballista (latin word) is a big one. Usually a siege engine I think. Then as the word gets into english it becomes ballister and is just a crossbow. Now obsolete according to the Gnu dictionary.
Bill
Mild steel rods should work fine. If its really wrought iron and there is a blacksmith nearby you might be able to trade for steel. Real wrought is hard to find and blacksmiths love it. If you wire brush a rusty spot and it has a texture like parallel fibers It's probably wrought. Note- wrought and cast iron are two really different things.
Bill
Thanks for all the info...
I am pretty sure this stuff is mild steel. It is scrap railing, and half the balusters (sp!) are twisted and half are straight to give it a wrought iron look. I really doubt that anyone would have gone to the trouble and expense to make them from real wrought iron.
Chris
I've made hundreds of feet of "ornamental handrailing" and have always used regular mild steel 1/2" square and twisted every other one. I think you'll be o.k.
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