Welding Tips and Tricks

So I'm going to TIG some cast steel, fortunately I'll have scrap sections of the metal to work with, so I'll have some tests And fortunately the part is pretty small. About the size of a large candy bar, so it won't be to difficult to pre-heat it. I actually was thinking about pre-heating it in the oven, because I have no way of measuring temperature outside of an oven, and 45 minutes in a 450 degree oven would probably put the entire part at 450? And I can season my cast iron pans at the same time, waste not want not.

I've read that a good way to slowly cool the metal down is to bury it in the sand over night. But I've not seen anyone mention how MUCH sand is enough. Does it only need a few inches of sand surrounding it on all sides? or does it need a lot more?

Since I live next to the beach, I figured I'd just do it out there.

Just kidding. But at least I know where I can source my sand from.

For a part that's about the size of a large candy bar, would a 5 gallon bucket of sand be enough insulation? Throw it in the middle of there 1/2 full, then fill up the rest?

YEAP bucket would be fine and yeas so that the sand is surrounding the part and more you but sand over it slower it cools (installation to heat) put it some where middle of that bucket (i dont know how much 5 gallon is but 10L bucket i would use.
One tip that try to do your welding at "first" attempt i mean you may need grind your first pass down and a reweld it. But not let it cool, and preheat again and do all over again there is more risk of KRAKS POKS RIKS to come vissit you (from KELLOGS) DO SOME TEST WELDS ITS WORTH IT.

Remember though, that cast steel is a lot less susceptible to cracking than cast iron.

weldin mike 27 wrote:Remember though, that cast steel is a lot less susceptible to cracking than cast iron.

well that's good! The part will be under a fair amount of stress, so I definitely want to take any necessary precautions.

I allso imagine that you were speaking cast iron, have to read more carefuel next time.

I am guessing it's cast steel, it rings when you hit it.

Cast steel, unless it's special steel, has the same weldability as ordinary mild steel.

weldin mike 27 wrote:Cast steel, unless it's special steel, has the same weldability as ordinary mild steel.

That's good! Because I'll be welding mild steel to it. What I'm doing is cutting the spline end of a cast Pitman steering arm off, and making a new arm, welding the cast steel splines in the middle so that I can still make use of the tapered splines. The only part that will be left from the original is the 'puck' with the splines, the rest will be new mild steel.

I assume that TIG welding would be better here than MIG?

Similar to this:

Jody has a video on testing cast steel v cast iron. Involved tigging a tiny puddle on the part and checking with a file to see if it. hardens. If it does, it's cast iron. (or special steel)

I'll look that up, thanks!

Pleasure, he welds on an exhaust manifold.

Thanks!

Reading up on it, it's possible that it's Forged steel, either forged or cast steel. I don't think it's iron.

On the plus side, if it's cast steel, and you treat it like cast iron, you'll be all good.

A place I worked at over 30 years ago had a sand box for cast iron. I think it was (maybe) 30" on a side, and the same deep. We would empty out half of the sand, heat, weld and bury the piece. Let is sit over the weekend. It would still be warm on Monday! But we did bury it.

Hope this is helpful.

Boomer63 wrote:A place I worked at over 30 years ago had a sand box for cast iron. I think it was (maybe) 30" on a side, and the same deep. We would empty out half of the sand, heat, weld and bury the piece. Let is sit over the weekend. It would still be warm on Monday! But we did bury it.

Hope this is helpful.

Thanks!

Wow, still warm over a weekend, that's a nice slow cooling!

If it's a Pitman Steering arm you're welding, it definitely won't be cast iron

How much carbon and compounds it has is an unknown, but it won't be cast iron. That's a certainty.

Forged steel would be my bet.