Howdy all,

Cause I am an old time welder who always got tagged to do the strange and difficult, I got pretty good at cast iron. Recently eutectic rods were mentioned on the forum and are truly excellent rods, and the company takes great pride in both the price of its products and the wide range of very, very specialized rods available for use. Unfortunately for cast iron welders of small items, the company provides cast iron rods in 5 pound minimums, at the industry standard price (more or less) of $45 a pound, minimum buy of almost $250. However, another time tested rod is available, in one pound lots at about $45. This rod is a standard "Nickel 99" , part number NLW99600 for 1/8 inch rods, made/sold by JW Harris, the same people that make the Harris gas gages for your brazing tanks. Unless you need 5 pounds you might look into this source. Remember when welding cast you need to V the joint and weld only a small amount of the run at a time, else when you look back you will see your joint opening back where you thought you were done, due to differential cooling. And any cast project is a slow project.

rock
'64d100

Is this gas welding or TIG????


just curious

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I bought Nickel 99 two days ago for $15/lb
(electrode arc welding)

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67Cuda,FAST EZEFI,340cu,CR=10.25,RollerCam&Rocker (XR268HR,#20-810-9)(#1622-16)(EddyRPM#60779,#7576), (MSD6AL,#6425) A904, GearVendorsOD, 8 1/4,3.55:1, ClassicAir

Hi guys, thanks for commenting.

Emsvitil, No TIG or gas, just stick welding. I actually like a thicker rod but 1/8 inch is easy to use. Just run it hot, I use 125 amps. Good practice pieces are water main chunks and such from a job site, or of course an old slant six part.. BrenCuda, let us know the source and number of the low cost rod you found...always like to have information stashed away.

rock
'64d100

Aerogas
2207 Silver Star Rd
Orlando, FL 32804
407-297-6200
www.aerogas.com
(N99-60) nickel 99 1/8" electrode $15 per lb.

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67Cuda,FAST EZEFI,340cu,CR=10.25,RollerCam&Rocker (XR268HR,#20-810-9)(#1622-16)(EddyRPM#60779,#7576), (MSD6AL,#6425) A904, GearVendorsOD, 8 1/4,3.55:1, ClassicAir

Do you pre-heat and slow cool as well?

What do you think about brazing?

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'15 Chrysler 200S V6
'74 Duster 360, factory 4 speed car

Dion,

Cast iron can be done hot or "cool" but ya gotta choose which one and stay through the process with whichever you choose. Cool is heated to about 100, 150 degrees; hot is hot...500 to 1000 degrees. Of the two I usually end up going cool because I can do it in the shop yard...in the summer it is easy to set the piece out in the sun down south and it will get to 125 pretty easy...for a smaller piece like a manifold or a head I dig a hole in the ground, pour in some Lowe's play sand from a 40 pound bag that I laid on a piece of tin to dry out, and just do the welding deed in the hole. Depending on how deep a weld is needed, sometimes you need to run multiple passes to fill it up, and that would use nickel 55 rods in addition to the nickel 99 BrenCuda and I mentioned. Mostly though, nickel 99 will do the deal. Weld about an inch length at a time and stop a few minutes, the return to another inch. I like to run hot welds so use higher amps than a lot of fellows, and because the carbon content of cast is so high compared to steel. basically, run what you can handle in amps. Keep the part tucked around with dry sand and when you are done, cove it all real good with several inches (6 or so) of sand and just leave it a couple of days. Don't jerk out the piece, just scrape off some sand and lett everything adjust. If you think this is trial and error, you are right!

As to brazing, I love brazing and silver soldering for repairs. I have brazed manifolds and had them hold, even though about 1400 degrees is a critical point for cast iron. Brazing is deceptively easy, it goes so smooth you think you have a good joint often when you may not. Steel is easy...if it looks good it probably is...iron is different, again the carbon does something. I would prefer to weld iron, but realistically just getting another piece new or used is probably better for most folks unless you know what you are doing. Or practicing.

By the way, that is good iron in DD's duals...I checked it out in a materials lab...great grain size.. Dunno where he gets the pour, but it isn't from Chinese workshops.
rock
'64d100

Good info., I also weld "cold" but it means getting the chill off the workpiece as discribed, a few hot coals from the BBQ works well for getting a manifold up to a good welding temp.
If you put down small sections of weld, alterning between 2 opposing corners , you can minimize 'cool time' during the job. Do a short bead, go to the other side, do a short bead, back to the other side..., just don't pour a lot of heat into any one area. you start to see the weld quality change if the workpiece gets too hot.
Thanks for the metallurgy test results!
I cast Dutra Duals right here in the SF Bay Area, California - USA
I have looked at a number of other foundries, who quote me way cheaper prices but with shipping and the pattern changes needed, it is better for me to pay my local foundry the high unit cost and keep the ability to watch the casting work like a hawk, rather then saving a few bucks by changing foundries.
DD