Bronze handrail

By Dualie

Date 09-10-2013 02:06

bend in one piece, dont weld. Tried it once, WAS A DISASTER

By weldwade (***)

Date 09-10-2013 06:44

It is possible to arc weld, mig, or tig weld bronze to steel. Depending on the thickness that will probably determine the process. I weld bronze seat liners in crusher mainframes routinely with the SMAW process. Here is a link with some useful info
http://www.metso.com/miningandconstruction/MaTobox7.nsf/DocsByID/35DE33E54397DD57C2257B2B0049D02C/$File/2013_tips_construction_mar_60_en.pdf

On small crushers the seat liners are fairly thin. Some pre heat and a 3/32" electrode work really well in my experience. You may want to give it a try? None of the bronze electrodes are very cheap and I usually end up getting 10 lb boxes as a minimum. The only thing I have on hand at this time is 1/8" electrodes. I have never seen them in less than a 10 lb box.

I'm sure there will be several others who chime in and give some of their experience.

By Dualie

Date 09-11-2013 04:56

getting a true color match will be almost impossible.

By strother (***)

Date 09-11-2013 10:39

Thats one of my concerns.

By 99205

Date 09-11-2013 16:03

The color match can be a big problem with the customer. Last time I had anything to do with bronze handrails, we ended up using an inner sleeve and flush mounting screws for the connections.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 09-13-2013 18:04

I have pictures of the one I did. The color difference was hardly noticeable. After 3 years out in the ruff on the clients front porch you don't even know it was welded. Polishing and finishing bronze, lots of patience.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 09-14-2013 15:47 Edited 09-14-2013 15:55

Randy,

Here are some pictures of the bronze rail I did. It has welded caps on the ends. As I said earlier, you can hardly notice the weld area and the color difference. I have pictures somewhere of what it looks like now but was unable to locate them, oldtimers disease is setting in I guess.

By strother (***)

Date 09-14-2013 22:45

That looks good! The one I bid is a "wrought iron" rail with a bronze cap rail. Do you know what grade bronze that is in your pic.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 09-15-2013 00:17

I have the paperwork buried somewhere in the office. I could look it up and find out the finish and grade of it when I get a chance.

By lo-hi

Date 09-15-2013 02:43

The clear lines and simplicity of that rail are awesome. Only someone in the trades would realize what it took to get there. I think its called functional art. good job

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 09-24-2013 17:51

Thanks for the great comment, designed that myself as a matter of fact! Was and still am quite proud of that one even though it is so simple.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 09-12-2013 16:07 Edited 09-12-2013 16:09

You need to look up Eric Carroll on here. A friend of mine here around Nashville. I'm sure he could offer some suggestions, he has tons of experience on that stuff. He's helped me out before with some I worked on. I think I used silicone bronze to tig it. It seems like it was just a bit more yellow than the actual bronze but hard to really notice and it's been a few years since I did it. Eric would have some tips for you.