Teddybo Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 (edited) Another scrap yard find - pays to make friends with workers . They set stuff aside for me - i belive it’s been retrofitted - Handle doesn’t look stock many advice would be helpful . I’m not worried about welding rhe old cast iron I’ve welded allot of nasty old cast iron and havnt had any cracked welded or purosity or failed welds yet . i just don’t know what to do as far as making it function besides need a leather belt to drive the blower Edited May 8, 2019 by Teddybo Add pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Great find. I believe you are right about the handle, all I've seen had wood for the handle. Looks fully restore-able to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Welding cast iron is a bit of a hassle to do it right. Rods run around $50 a pound, you need a peening device - I use a large inline needle scaler, and a way to cool it down very slowly - I use gray wood ashes. Some rods use a preheat, others do not. Prep the weld area, lay a short bead down, then peen it as it cools from red heat to black. Brush the weld, and repeat as necessary. The issue with cast is it has a vastly different coefficient of expansion than the weld material. The weld bead shrinks faster, and rips away from the edges. That is why you peen the weld as it cools - spreads it sideways keeping the edges together. When done, bury it in ashes and let it cool overnight. Easy peasy way to repair those items - brazing. One and done way to make it hold the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddybo Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Yeah I use nasty cast rod made by Vulcan as a buttering later then 7018 and pre heat entire area to around 700 degrees because I find it helps burn up some impurities that has soaked in ( I’ve had oil like stuff a few times come ozzing out )and use temp sticks to verify . I always cleans the heck out of the area and and like ya said short welds with a needle scalper to fallow and don’t let the cast iron drop below 500 then when done depending on size I either put it in a large tub of carbon pellets I get from filters I use in my shop ( I get them for free from weeds growers and then hook up to a squirrel cage and they control odor and dust ) and if the item Is to large I wrap with a couple welding blankets then moving blankets and Nd I just don’t like the way brazing looks and silver braze is not friendly with large gaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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