WELDING 1074 SPRING STEEL TO HIGH HARD ARMOR

By MICHAEL PANDOLI Date 07-13-2010 18:46

I HAVE A UNIQUE APPLICATION REQUIRING THE WELDING OF A 1074 SPRING STEEL SHEET METAL PART THAT IS .050 THICK TO 3/8 HIGH HARD ARMOR.
I AM CURRENTLY TIG WELDING WITH 309 SS TIG ROD.
AM I ON FIRM GROUND.
I HAVE FOUND NO GUIDANCE PUBLISHED FOR THIS APPLICATION.
PLEASE POST INPUT.
THANKS

By OBEWAN

Date 07-13-2010 19:52

A first guess might be that the spring would be annealed. Do you get the physical properties you need after the weld has been made?

By MICHAEL PANDOLI Date 07-13-2010 21:39

The weld is far enough away from the functional end of the part that the area that does the work is not affected. That is a design function and we have no way of controlling that. I am more concerned about the weld integrity in regards to avoiding cracking. That is why we chose 309.
Any input on that would be helpful.
Thanks

By MMyers

Date 07-14-2010 14:12

I can't say if you're 100% correct, but I have worked in a defense manufacture's facility that either currently did, or in the past, use SS to weld non structural joints for joining high hard to other steel alloys. You will need to look at controlling preheat though because the SS does nothing for the HAZ of the base metal, which may or may not get detrimentally hard.