Iron Clad Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 At the latest NWBA conference I bought a champion model 203 post drill. I don't know how heavy it is, but I know it's too heavy for my son and I to lift and attach to a post. This drill is large! Anyway, I decided to make a large hook or welded loop with a flattened tang to bolt far up on the post. On this hook I will attach a pulley to lift the post drill into place. I didn't have any steal round stock large enough but I found in my scrap pile a 1.5" diameter wrought iron bar. I scarfed the end and bent the loop and proceeded with the weld. I believe the weld went well. I have never forged real wrought iron before. It did seem to move a little faster than steel. My question is, when forge welding wrought iron, should I take a higher heat than steel? When welding this bar, I took a very bright yellow to white heat. Afterwards I inspected the weld and couldn't find any problems, however I don't know if I did any damage to the internal structure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I have very little experience forging wrought (wagon tire mostly). If not forged at the proper heat ( read high heat ) it will split and de-laminate. My experience has been that if you forge to refine the bar first and then go about the needs you have to make the shape (and or weld) you need you will have better results. Yes it welds very nicely at a sparkling white heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keykeeper Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Iron Clad: For a look at an image of one from an old catalog, check this out: click it twice for the larger image. I'm a fan of these old machines, really fascinating to mess with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Generally you weld wrought iron at a temp that would be burning up modern steels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 congrats on the drill press i looked at it but it was too big for me to haul! as far as wrought iron i find u usually need a higher heat to keep it from delamanateing on you and that is the biggest difference ...it usually welds easyier tho but with a lot of heat... good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hey IC, Shoot Dean M an email - he'll be able to give you a real good feel for welding wrought - I swear, if that guy just gets two pieces of iron in the same room together they'll stick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Thanks KeyKeeper for the AD. 500 LBS!!!! WOW!!!! No wonder why my son and I had trouble lifting it out of my truck. I really didn't know it was that heavy. We had to lift it twice and carry it about 10 Ft. We still have to lift it again in prep. for installation. Well the wrought iron hook I made is 1.5 inches in diameter. It should hold the weight. I will wench it up very carefully though! Can't wait to try it out. It's in great condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 Will do CHY... I didn't know Dean has welded wrought iron before. He must have got his hands on some of that Swedish wrought iron. Seems I remember something about that in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hey IC, He ended up with a whole bunch when we yanked out that 80' of railing from a home in PDX. He did a remake on that section because a car had pranged it up pretty badly. Part of the deal was he got to keep all of the old railing. I ended up selling most of my share at a couple of the NWBA conferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 "I will wench it up very carefully though!" Safety is always a good idea and when you are done wenching you may want to look into using a winch to lift the drillpress... (thanks for the smile this morning, I've been married 25 years and so my wenching days are long ago...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 Mr. Powers, thanks for that. I needed a good laugh today. Actually, I have a good vocabulary and poor spelling. But then again....how do you know I wasn't trying to explain that perhaps I was going to have my wife lift it up on the post?? LOL!! (I'm glad my wife isn't reading this!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 My wife is always willing to help me move heavy items---she says that she will hold the whip while I do the moving... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 And here I thought you were going to say it was so heavy you and your son had to lift it twice to carry it once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 Grant, your more right than you know, when lifting it out of the truck, we lifted it once and set it back down. My reaction was "holy crap" as my back cramped. Then we lifted it a second time and only moved it once! You must be a psychic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 I've sworn an oath that I will work smarter and so in my shop extension I plan to have a jib crane to load heavy objects into/out of the truck. Already I have an arrangement that when I teach smithing at NM Tech that they provide loading and unloading help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 6, 2009 Author Share Posted November 6, 2009 Mr. Powers, does this mean you will have a harem of wenches?? LOL.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 No; my wife says I have a "harem of Anvils"! Saw an add on craigslist for a 9000# wench all I could think of was that polka... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 Wrought iron can take a higher welding heat than a comparable size of mild steel, medium carbon steel, or high carbon steel. However, that does not mean that you ALWAYS need a high heat to weld it. Many of you know that edge tools were often forged of wrought iron in the early days to save time and money. The high carbon steel was forge welded to the wrought iron in order to form a heat treatable cutting edge, but high carbon steel cannot stand a high forge welding heat or it will crack or crumble. So you wind up with two dissimilar ferrous metals seeking a common welding heat. That welding heat is necessarily going to be a "light welding heat" sometimes called a "sweating heat" with no sparks! Wrought iron does weld at the lower welding heat.Turley Forge and Blacksmithing School : The Granddaddy of Blacksmithing Schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Clad Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 Thanks Mr. Turley. That makes me worry less about the weld I took. I brought the iron up to a bright yellow to white heat, just about to where it sparks. After I welded the bar together, forming a loop on the end, I proceeded to open up the loop and forge it round using my cone mandrel. As you know, this will force open the weld if not done properly. I didn't see any signs of the weld opening up, so I must conclude that the weld took. The real test will be when the hook suspends 500 lbs!! This has been a real education for me. I hope to forge more wrought iron in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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