Stick welding to cast? Other stupid questions

[Archdukeferdinand]

So my brake pads have worn deep grooves on my knuckles and they need to be fixed.

All I've got is an OLD miller AC/DC stick welder.

Any reason I can't use my trusty 6011 rods to build up the grooves and grind them flat?

Any tips for welding to cast? Do I need to do a local stress-relief with a torch or anything like that?

Not exactly advanced fab but I figured some of the advanced fab people might have some advanced advice.

 

[Matt S.]

Let me make this as clear as possible.




Please just find some used knuckles and replace your f'd up ones. For your safetly and everyone else's. If you have trouble finding knuckles, I bet we could find two to send you!

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

Let me make this as clear as possible.




Please just find some used knuckles and replace your f'd up ones. For your safetly and everyone else's. If you have trouble finding knuckles, I bet we could find two to send you!

That bad, huh?

Care to explain why?

If its a question of the welder (janky old me) and equipment, I don't have a problem getting a pro welder to do it - we have a guy who does all the work on our chairlifts whose shop is on our mountain. I'd rather pay him for an hour of work than bother tracking down used knuckles and swapping them out.

 

[Matt S.]

That bad, huh?

Care to explain why?

If its a question of the welder (janky old me) and equipment, I don't have a problem getting a pro welder to do it - we have a guy who does all the work on our chairlifts whose shop is on our mountain. I'd rather pay him for an hour of work than bother tracking down used knuckles and swapping them out.

Here is how I think on that kind of stuff. Its your brakes. Building up the weld MAY be good enough, but the factory knuckle IS good enough. See what I am getting at? Its that "what if" that will get you every time. Knuckles are CHEAP and plentiful.

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

Knuckles are CHEAP and plentiful.

While I can appreciate your standpoint, I just don't buy the disposable attitude here.

Yeah, the factory knuckles work for certain but I'll spend quite a bit more time hunting them down and swapping them out.

We've used this guy to weld chairs & grips on our chair lifts. Thinking of the safety of myself and others lets just say that his work holds up to the rigors of german and italian engineers, keeps thousands of customers safe every year and holds up to HUGE insurance liabilities.

Plus I've got 140 acres or so of private land to try them out on, so what've I got to lose?

So now that we've got my moral obligation to the rest of the driving public out of the way, back to the tech side of why this should or should not be done with a stick welder...

I'll take this particular problem up with our welder, but what about welding other areas of the cast? Like relocating shock mounts or spring perches, etc??? Most of my welding has been done on big tractors, mowers and backhoes. I know the 6011 rods are generating a lot of heat which is why I asked about using it on something like cast metal. I'm getting to the point of laying a bead with decent penetration so I'd like to know the limitations of the machine I'm working with.

Again, sorry because I know this is far from advanced fab but the knowledge of metallurgy is far better here than in other forums.

 

[Goatman]

If you won't tell anyone, I'll admit that I welded up my shaved front D44 housing with my Lincoln stick welder and 6011 rod. I pre and post heated it with the torch.

Personally, I don't see a problem filling grooves with weld and grinding them back down. You're not attaching any components together, just building up metal.

 

[Archdukeferdinand]

If you won't tell anyone, I'll admit that I welded up my shaved front D44 housing with my Lincoln stick welder and 6011 rod. I pre and post heated it with the torch.

Personally, I don't see a problem filling grooves with weld and grinding them back down. You're not attaching any components together, just building up metal.

Your secret is safe with me. Thanks for the info

 

[flexinout]

Or if you really want to you could go to the local weld shop and pick up electrodes, designed for welding of cast iron, which the core is very high in nickle content. Thats what we use in my shop.

 

[JohnX]

If it makes you feel better i did mine with a wire feed over 3 years ago and have had no problems whatsoever. I did not pre or post heat, but I was careful not to overheat it, small spots at a time.

I do fully agree that new knuckles are the best solution, but some of us are too cheap for that, and finding a used set that doesn't already have wear can be a problem.

 

[MudDawg]

Or if you really want to you could go to the local weld shop and pick up electrodes, designed for welding of cast iron, which the core is very high in nickle content. Thats what we use in my shop.

A VERY good rod for iron or iron/steel is ESAB All-State Super 4-60 it is rated as a flat position rod so set up the piece accordingly so you dont get the dribbles...just be sure to get the piece good and clean first.

 

[vetteboy]

I'm fairly certain the knuckles are cast steel, not cast iron. Cast steel does not require the nickel rod and pre/post heat process that cast iron does.

 

[JohnX]

I'm fairly certain the knuckles are cast steel, not cast iron. Cast steel does not require the nickel rod and pre/post heat process that cast iron does.

Thats what i thought, and thats why I used my MIG. Don't know 100% so I didn't post it.

 

[flexinout]

I've never done anything to steering knuckles. I just posted what i knew about welding cast.