It is an antennae mount for a ship's deck.
So I guess it just isnt weldable. I tried mild steel rod, nickle rod, brazing rod, and silicon bronze rod. I thought the silicon bronze worked but then I saw that it centerline cracked just like the rest. Then my super-type person came and went through the whole gamut and they all cracked for her too. Nice to know it wasnt just me :-). I went and found the guy and asked him what they were and he said they were cast steel--which should have made them easy to weld. Must be a mistake in labeling, he's going to get me more for monday. Apparently, there are 4 kinds of cast iron and not all of them are weldable. Luck of the draw, I guess, to accidently get the one that isnt.
It was actually the perfect day for a puzzle!
Thanks for the posts, as always. I try and find the answers online also but alot of times you have to wade through so much stuff that being able to directly ask a bunch of professional welders is way more efficient.
zcat if it was chrome moly I doubt it would have cracked that way......chrome moly will let you weld it wrong and exhibit undercracking and tears at side tie in perhaps...but usually it will just fail in service and you will never see the defect unless it undergoes some rt ..
Take the time and talk to a metallurgist to find out what it is. They should be able to give you a basic idea of what the material is. If its white cast iron it will be weldable. If its some other type of cast iron then you will at least be able to determine what consumable to use as well as the pre and post heat (as applicable).
Although just trying things may work, it can save you a lot of time, cost and aggravation to just get the material analyzed.
Probably malleable or gray iron threaded pipe fittings. I'm puzzled by your description of "center cracking". I would expect cast iron to crack along the heat affected zone next to the weld. In any case, if you want a durable mount, you should thread a piece of carbon steel plate or bar with a pipe tap of the correct size. Otherwise, you'll need to find fittings that meet ASME B16.11 spec. The iron fittings typically meet B16.3 (malleable iron) or B16.4 (gray iron).
Pipe sleeves [uses to join 2 pipes end to end] are often made of steel pipe and weld easily. Cast ones are obviously castings due to thier shape. Pipe flanges are generally cast iron or maleable cast iron, and might or might not be weldable. My suggestion is find out if You can use a steel pipe sleeve to make the connection.
if it is iron it is much more likely to crack right at the sides of the weld.....but I never put a steel rod to cast iron either so........
did you try oxy fuel welding with cast iron rod and solar flux, preheat whole piece to 1100 degrees and keep there during the whole weld procedure, then post heat and completely bury in floor dry. leave it there for a day or two and let it cool to ambient in the floor dry, the welding is sort of a stirring motion between the flame, the consumable and parent metal. lotsa flux. neutral flame is important as well
ive welded some pretty ugly cast parts that were impossible to weld any other way.(e.g. 1953 corvette exhaust manifold for which i received no payment and water jacket heat exchanger that was around 150 years old, both were irreplaceable and would lead to very very expensive alternate solutions. a myriad of other one of parts as well)
lucky enough to have had a VERY GREAT teacher and awesome human being bob adams show me how. very old school technique.
they sell different types and grades of the consumable bars.
there has gotta be some of the more seasoned welders out there with a bunch of experience with this technique.
be prepared for an experience if you attempt it , takes team work and perseverance but it should get er done.
just as a side note i was told by a boss to weld a cast part with 7018 once. i said it wont work. he said just do what im told. 10 hours of welding and the next day there were dozens of cracks(which you could hear happening while welding) the next day the boss looked at it and said well i guess that we now know that it cant be done like that. i guess he was right cause i knew but "we" didn't
darren
Hi Tommy!
Excellent links - Thanks ;)
I've got a few also so, I'll post them when I find them... MUST GET A NEWER SERVER!!! :) :) :)
Respectfully,
Henry