Anything welding

Sounds like a ripoff...
I think Maine Oxy charges less than $30 to refill one.

 

Wonder what my local shop charges...
Have to ask tomorrow me thinks.

 

Tried my hand at welding cast iron this weekend. I had to do some surgery on our old wood cookstove because years of use had worn the catch on the firebox and ash doors down to the point that they weren't staying closed reliably. I had thought about just replacing them, but they're hard to find and damned expensive when you do. I'd never tried welding cast iron before, but I did some research online and figured if worse came to worst I could always just buy new doors (which I'd have to do anyway) so that we could use it this winter. We cook breakfast on it most weekends and it makes a great supplemental heater when the power goes out during those winter storms.



Pretty good-sized groove.


I used the wire wheel on my bench grinder to clean it up, then clamped it in my bench vise and heated the crap out of it with a propane torch. Then I started tacking weld beads into the cavity to build it up, heating it with the torch between welds.


Once I got it built up enough I took an angle grinder to the beads I'd tacked on and ground it down flush with the factory bevels.


I put some stoveblack on it and reinstalled it on the stove, and it works good as new. I gave the ash door the same treatment and now they both fit securely, close correctly (and stay there) and it cost me a hell of a lot less than buying new doors.


Actually, we're sitting in front of it as I type this. And I cooked cinnamon buns in it Sunday morning for breakfast.

 

Nice job, looks original.
What process and filler, amps etc., did you use for this repair.

 

When I first started I thought you were doing the whole Doors .

You should be fine with those parts .

The problem with cast Iron on stoves is the matching the filler with the rest of the part so they both expend and contract at the same rate..

I think the last time I bought nickle rod it was @ $65.00 a pound.

 

Right...process.....

Heated the crap out of the door before and during the weld, then kept it warm while I was doing the grind, then let it cool off.
I used my Hobart 140 mig welder with .030 stainless wire at 30% power with feed setting 2. I kept the power low to keep from overheating the weld and warping or cracking the lip and it seems to have worked out OK.

God no! If it was structural honestly I'd probably have just taken it to a pro. Not sure I'd have wanted to try it with my old Craftsman 240 Buzzbox and Nickle filler rod, haha! Where it was just a door catch I felt confident enough to give it a try myself. I honestly don't have enough welding experience to do a good job of welding cast structural parts.

 

Remember Mig guns are not lead ropes .!!!

Nor is your welder a cranky animal that needs to be pulled around by the gun.

Yet so many people continue to do just this .

Then blame the welder when the wire welds fast to the liner because the power cable is open.

Two guns destroyed from this today !!

Today`s rant over for now !!

 

Mine wants $52 CAD for an MC. Yee...

 

Thanks. I'm going to call Airgas and see what they say.

 

But should I use the gun to weld the ground clamp to the workpiece?!

 

I think AirGas only uses their bottles. So you'd have to purchase their own bottles. (At least that's what I was told just now by the Shop in the town I work in who does business with Airgas.)

 

Tonights project = complete !

 

Stickers?
Or am I missing something.

 

That is a good one as well Lets check the output of the welder by welding the work clamp

Putting the work clamp on upside down is another good one.

*****Getting Gas cylinders filled or exchanged can sometimes be a royal pain.

Back in the day just about any distributor would swap any other distributors cylinders .

Now Air Gas only swaps there own cylinders as well as Praxair getting your own tanks filled can be quite interesting unless your lucky to have a fill plant at your distributor other wise it could take a few weeks

As there own Cylinders always come first.

Like anything else it comes down to how well they know you the price you pay retail price for any gas is expensive.

I keep for getting to ask about the price.

 

Not sure if good or bad lol!

 

Neither. I don't even watch Futurama, but that's what it reminded me of, lol.

 

Got some more done on my 40" press brake project..

 

Nice. Are you going to use the standard a bottle jack for the press, or are you going to use threaded rod for more control?