ay Leno's Garage and Antique Cast Iron Welding Repair

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[@phlodel]

Cutting a groove for the weld has a secondary purpose. It helps an old, blind welder stay on track.

[@thenormalyears]

im only in my 30s and it helps me

[@anteneupitra]

if it doesnt crack later you will be luck

[@RambozoClown]

Why not TIG braze it with silicon bronze, so you don't have to melt the cast iron?

[@bobbytuma1815]

Rambozo Clown because he has no idea what he is doing

[@gibbyrockerhunter]

Danny Kay’s water heater... never would I have wondered.

[@Grover895]

"Almost impossible to weld?" Cast iron was being welded using oxygen/acetylene years before TIG/Argon arc welding methods were even invented. I have welded cast iron with all the methods mentioned, plus Metallic Arc Welding... using a muffle and cast iron rods. Admittedly it is a difficult material to weld successfully...but not 'almost impossible'

[@russellclark9419]

What a crock, I've been welding cast iron for years and I can say that is NOT how welding is done. Always preheat to dull red all over and oxy weld it with cast iron rods with 2% silicone content and the flux I use is just borax

[@kennethnewell4955]

Russell ! How would you weld broken bell housing bolt holes on the back of a rare car engine ( boss 302 ford ) when you cant preheat the whole block to the extreme you suggest ? Keep in mind it needs to be drilled tapped and shaped ! Any suggestions appreciated!

[@RSB333]

@@kennethnewell4955 That job should be done with the very best technique, as that block is pretty near priceless. The job would be done at a specialty machine shop in an oven, preheated to about a dull red. The vee'd out area would be rebuilt with a torch that "metal sprays" a filler powder (I think it is mostly nickle). Bear in mind this is not cheap, (sorry about that), but you would not regret doing it......

[@brainfarth]

The random cracking sounds make me cringe every time. Reminds me of a few 'unweldable' cast jobs that were thrown at me.

[@richardchase4019]

all cast iron can be welded and repaired by skilled hands

[@bryanlawless1858]

Why don't you peen the weld to prevent/minimize cracking?

[@johnstutz4458]

I'm thinking it just makes sense to preheat! Miracle rods or not I'm going to preheat cast...

[@mathewmolk2089]

A guy that knows his business. - I ONLY weld cast iron with oxy-fuel and REAL CAST IRON rod. - Anything else is only camouflaging, especially on antique objects. There is not one single of these voodoo filler rod or stick wire that will produce an undetectable repair and none will produce the ductility and other mechanical properties of a properly done gas welded repair with cast iron rod....If you want it just like new it is the ONLY way.

[@jeffcarpenter396]

I have welded cast for years with 308 stainless and have brazed cast tool you can even mig weld cast

[@Blueshirt38]

@@mathewmolk2089 Now I'm not a pro welder, just a guy who does some farm welding with a cheap flux core machine, but if there is anything I have learned in the trades it is this: any time that someone speaks in absolutes, they are wrong. There may be better, or more correct ways to do something, but there is almost never a situation in which only one exact process works, and everything else is wrong. You say it is impossible to do what you you just watched him do in a video, so I can only assume that you are wrong.

[@Blueshirt38]

@@jeffcarpenter396 As a guy with no real experience other than handing my buddy $100 and him handing me his old gasless mig machine, I have welded cast iron. I had the base of my cheap cast iron bench vice break in my workshop, so I ground a bit away along the snap line, heated it a bit, then welded away, and the thing was brought back to life. I'm sure it isn't 100% of the prior strength, but it went from broken to working, and I have wrenched and pounded on the thing for over a month now with no issues.

[@RSB333]

@@mathewmolk2089 well, I agree with all that, have done a fair bit of exhaust manifolds and what not. For cylinder heads, I preheated with charcoal fed with shop compressed air from below. I vee'd out and torch welded with square cast iron rod and special flux. The only alternative I found success with was torch welding with nickle-silver-bronze flux coated rod, using pre and post heat. There was a foundry process called "burning" with the part undergoing repair surrounded by rammed green sand, and the heating/welding accomplished by pouring liquid cast iron over the part, letting excess iron run off until complete fusion was accomplished

[@ffjsb]

Regardless of whether or not you like Jay's comedy, his restoration efforts are awesome.

[@ronwhittaker6317]

i never liked Jays funny too much but I love the guy nonetheless because of stuff like this. he truly is to the mechanic's world what any man in history has done for it thank goodness he was able by whatever means.

[@duffermod1]

I'm a Antique fireplace Restorer for over 30 years and that is pretty good welding. Cast iron is a pain in the ass But I have method which I call Dot to Dot.I use a Arc welder with cast electrodes First grind out a groove and a little preheat and depending on thickness (if thin drill a 5mm hole either end ) and dot near one end then tap off slag straight away and wire brush it then put another dot near middle of job and also listen to the piece for cracking . Slowly slowly softly softly carry on but not too quick let it absorb the heat . Just like a kid dot to dot drawing but really really slowly. Good welding and saving a beautiful antique good job.

[@davidhendershot5734]

No matter what you have to drill out the crack.

[@deere3321]

You could hear it crack at 10:46 and see the crack at the end of the weld. Great video.

[@jimstover6747]

sour right. I missed that. Good catch.

[@jasonb4350]

deere3321 I heard it and saw it immediately, he over did it he was fine until the end.

[@ricklance4156]

deere3321

[@Albert87nl]

or at 5:38 then loud pop to!

[@TheChopperUnderground]

Every time I see this “Mr. TIG” guy try cast Iron, I hear a pop and see a crack!

[@TheNameIwantedWasTkn]

good videos but the pause before "im mr tig"....god i cringe when he does that.

[@aellis6692]

Right its so cheesy

[@ForestWoodworks]

Does reveal just how temperamental welding cast iron is, even this experienced Ace had to take measured steps! I've had to research different methods because I found a crack last Saturday in the trunnion cast of an 80 year old Walker-Turner table saw I'm restoring on my own channel. Basically, I just finished the final cleaning prep for eventual painting when I saw the crack, jaw drop and heart sank :( My piece is close to irreplaceable, so I'm leaning more towards the metal stitching technique, rather than heat welding. But whatever method choose, this video sure was informative. Thanks!

[@manin10]

J. Leno is like my dad but funnier and with more money!😂 My dad used to say, when you start a new job look around for the idiot. If you can't find him, it's you!

[@Dr_Xyzt]

Would this have been a good opportunity to use some sort of brazing technique?

[@artistservices717]

You obviously don't have a lot of experience welding cast iron. It's pretty much all I do, and that's not what I would have done.

[@anteneupitra]

what to do if new cracks appears? Stop welding yor in the worng job...

[@JonDingle]

A few cracking sounds as the cast coooled. I am not qualified in any welding procedure. However, had I been asked to weld that up I would have preheated it, welded with a high Nickel content rod, welded about 1inch then peened it gently to stress relieve it and repeated that process until the welding was done. I would then have managed the coling process by putting the stand in a form and covering it with sand. Blast media is a great because it is bone dry. Interesting video though.

[@NanoCottage]

Why not silicon bronze with a gas torch and a good pre-heat - especially when you consider it is such a low grade and rather thin? Surely Tig welding like that with no pre-heat is creating large amounts of stress due to the huge temperature difference - you can hear further cracks forming a few times in the video. And why re-apply heat to a constrained area an area that you have just stitched together - you can hear and see another crack form.

[@siggyincr7447]

+NanoCottage Yeah, brazing would have been better. But I'm guessing that this was more about product placement. I've welded a few cast iron exhaust manifolds with an arc welder and nickle rods and one with special ferrous alloy rods for cast that a probably pretty similar to what he was using in this video. Even though they say that they don't need preheat, they seem to work better once your base metal is fairly hot.

[@Ritalie]

@@siggyincr7447 Not preheating the metal doesn't make sense to me. I thought the weld will flow out way better if the metal is really hot. Because half way through your welding, the metal will be preheated anyway, and so your welding process would be more consistent if you started out hot? Also, the temperature difference between the welded area and the part would be much less if you preheated, the material?

[@TheToolReview]

Jay Leno looked kind of sad with the addition of the new crack. I would of done a better job for Mr. Leno and welded that piece up with pre-heat and nickel rod.

[@jcr3rd]

Yep you are right TheToolReview! Nickel rod will weld cast. Certanium 889 Cast Iron Stick Rod Electrode is pretty good also. They make a Cronatron - 211 Cast Iron MIG Welding Wire also.

[@mobilechief]

True

[@dougyoung221]

@phdfxwg Fischercat late reply but that's what I was taught by a neighbor. Weld short distance then hammer with pointed end of slag hammer to relieve stress. Guy was self taught, proud, but very practical and good. He would use 7018 rod as do I. It's always worked but could be the cast iron wasn't terribly difficult as no doubt it varies. I've had good luck with brazing on very old exhaust manifolds and no crack, pop, like this vid.

[@fvsfn]

Thanks Mr Tig for that nice video, as always. A beginner's question: if you had pulse DC available, could you use that to reduce the total heat input in the weld ?

[@coreybumbaugh4803]

Jay is an amazing man and has saved so much history its unreal. Talk about life goals follow anyone in this video

[@briandantz4899]

No preheat? this piece should have been baked in an enclosure and warmed up. Weld prep is key. Gotta open it up and clean the sides. prep down to clean metal . This piece is too thin without a preheat. also, wrap it up with a blanket for a slow cool down. You can tell this is dirty filthy cast with sand and crap left if it from the casting process. Not sure i would have used TIG (and i do love TIG!). good video

[@thestumaji656]

would a silicon bronze filler be just a bit easier? I hate cast iron I usually use a jet fluxer with nickel bronze rod it works awesome.

[@OtisENGINEuity]

I wonder if putting a flux paste on it would help scrub the impurities out of the metal. 10:45 that cracking sound.. you can see where it extended the crack further at the start of the weld. That's the problem with anything cast, iron or aluminum. On a side note.. I really miss welding. It's been about 9 or 10 years since I last tig welded.. wish I could afford one.

[@LifeSavingDefense]

I mean no disrespect but I Learned a TON ….. From all the comments, and what NOT to do from the video. I have an old 1886 cracked Crystal Metal bell -- Apparently that means WHITE cast iron so researching as much as possible and will practice on a garbage piece to find the best results….. I don’t have a tig welded but I have watched alot of videos and shared some messages enough to learn THIS video is NOT the answer. My current options are JB Weld, acetylene torch, propane, mig, brazing or even trying solder (interesting) but it will NOT be continuous non preheat TIG… I’m only at 11:31 in the video. You say it’s dirty iron but is it grey iron or white? Trying to figure it out by watching the cut but can’t tell…. … I guess I’ll finish the video…. Still learning so every bit of info counts… Everyone else could be wrong and new stuff is made everyday. Also I won’t really know till I work on it myself…. Just like all you “experts”…

[@littlestworkshop]

From EZ Welds website: "This small amount of powder cannot be classified as an alloy, but could be electromagnetic energy, of which not much is known as this time; but it does not matter what it is, as long as it performs to our control and demand." Hilarious nonsense.

[@mmscastrepair6532]

i'm the owner of a metal stitching company in new york, i could have done a permanent repair on that piece that would have been as strong as the original and virtually invisible. Metal Stitching is a precise mechanical method of making permanent a repair of broken castings that can be used without interrupting the Integrity of the iron. Metal Stitching can be done on either small engine blocks or huge multi-ton presses basically anything that's made out of cast iron can and should be metal stitched instead of welded or brazed. if you welded it you destroyed it, then i can't fix it.

[@robertthomasson7891]

I think metal stitching is an excellent method, but...it's so expensive it's out of reach of all except industrial customers.

[@capriracer351]

@10:46 TINK!!!! I absolutely hated hearing that sound the few times I have welded cast iron. Seems to happen to me regardless of how much I try to pre-heat and then keep close to the SAME heat in the piece while slowing the cooling rate as low as possible.

[@blobjunkranch]

no wonder this dude thinks it's impossible to weld cast...no pre-heat, running long beads and no pinging to relieve stress while cooling.

[@erneststorch9844]

A lot of what Jay works on you can't find replacement part anywhere it just doesn't exist. You have to try and do something . Repair it is your first option. The last you want to make it from scratch. Very nice welding by the way. I sure admire someone who really knows his stuff .

[@blkcoupequattro]

I used a mig welder on my Audi gray cast iron exhaust manifold, but I heated it up with a propane torch before welding. I had 4 cracks to weld on it, not one crack came back. White cast iron is the hardest to weld if at all, that water heater base is probably white cast just looking at it.

[@samlawrence7320]

Claims that no preheat is necessary bollux, if you don't the part will always crack as fast as you can weld it up.

[@chrimony]

@Randy: But the problem wasn't the filler material, it was the surrounding iron getting cracked from the sudden heat. So the product fails as advertised in a fundamental way.

[@t0x0n1x]

shoulda brazed it! muggy weld works OK with cast iron as long as you only puddle the filler and not the iron. it's like tig brazing. but I'd pre heat and braze it the old way instead of chasing cracks from the uneven heating.

[@UnsanctionedFabrication]

+Brian Madigan Agreed! Nobody does it because its considered an obsolete form of welding. I've been Tig brazing anything thinner than 3/16" thick, and torch brazing the rest.

[@stantutak5579]

A cylinder head reconditioner said only success welding cast heads is pre heat and oxy acet.with cast filler rod !

[@wellendowedstudios]

at 11:20 why didn't he weld the rest of that crack? I think Mr Tig needs some glasses lol

[@nutgone100]

I've used EZ Weld rods. They're good, but hoping for a pre-heat free cast weld is a little optimistic, you'd have to do minute weld beads & allow to cool completely between each one, it would take ages. I've gone back to using stainless filler, it's just as good & cheaper for me to buy (I have to import EZ Weld & get caught for customs charges every time).

[@deanzhot12]

Did you not see where the crack continued on beyond the weld????

[@droberts12345yt]

I have some of that easy weld tig wire. It's 60 bucks a pound and cracks in the middle of the weld every time I use it. I'll go back to braising.

[@rockdawg1467]

you cant braze cast iron it wont work tryed long time ago it failed even thou it was done properly

[@Teambustass]

+rock dawg. do it all the time

[@danielnapast4955]

rock dawg I have to disagree, TIG brazing on cast works significantly better than welding it does. I've had next to no luck with welding cast iron but near 100% success with brazing.

[@outwhitu08]

JB weld that sumbeach!.......hahahaha

[@EFD620G]

Did HVAC and Plumbing for 45 yrs. Threw away several of these type heaters. If I'd only known!

[@promodracer2191]

Not sure why you did not weld an inch at a time and peen it to relieve stress as you went.

[@micahgriffith6803]

On Cast Iron cracks aren't you supposed to drill a hole at the end of each crack for future stopping of elongation of sub surface cracks? and grind completely through the material even if with a small dremel bit. I can understand cold welding and back fill weld so you don't add too much heat at once, but from the start it seemed a bit flawed... I am fairly new and much respect, Just asking because I really want to be the best in the world.

[@Madmoody21]

You remove anything that may have cracked then you usually Gas Braze it tig can be used to heat but welding cast iron makes a pretty worthless material out of the iron.

[@balalaika7088]

never had any luck tig welding cast but I have had real good results with old school gas welding using bronze brazing or a stick welder with cast rod but that's also how they use to fix it back in the day.

[@shortyrok211]

Late night talk shows have gone to garbage since Jay left. Such a shame

[@gordjohnson70]

Experimenting on an expensive old antique ? For an antique, a "tried and true" method should be used. Experimenting should be done on a piece of junk cast.

[@gdglock]

Metal stitch, lock n stitch (google it) is the safest and most effective repair, IMHO. Second would be OA brazing.

[@richardchase4019]

wrong .....flame spray welding is the best way to repair cast iron

[@BayouRepairGuy]

I have used a oven and 6013 rod to successfully fix cast iron

[@braddavis4377]

Thanks for adding the view shield for the weld! Most folks just show as is.

[@mobileweldingandtrailerrep3762]

That is one impressive customer Mr. Tig.. Wow. And Danny Kaye's water heater?!?!. Im 53 and when I was a kid I was a fan of Kaye. Good work sir and thanks for the cast iron welding tips. I get a few old pieces like that occasionally from customers.

[@nigelkingsley-lewis534]

I had a cast iron ram pump made in 1847 that was blown apart by frost to repair a few years ago. I tried various propriety welding fillers but they all kept cracking or the cast did with or without pre-heat, the cast was so full of shit, I even found a piece of flint in it. In the end at the suggestion of an old man who sold welding supplies after retiring from welding, I welded or brazed the cast with 100% pure copper, it did the trick.

[@richardprice5978]

diid it work better than pure nickel rods ? i may try your copper rod trick sometime in the future as i have older car parts that need work

[@consaka1]

Boy that sure didn't want to weld very well. I'd still have heated that up to glowing before welding.

[@uvmetalbrazing]

What did you do about the crack that formed at 10:47 and would you recommend using the non-pre-heat filler or go about it the traditional pre-heat/slow cool method instead?

[@GaisaSanktejo]

It seems he made note of it and ground then welded the crack later :)

[@barrettdamon]

I thought I was the only one that saw that and heard that crack!

[@wvXvxvXvw]

Those welds were cracked all the way from one end to the other in the last shot. That's why they didn't do a closeup like they always do on this channel. If you pause it at 11:24 you'll see the giant crack running all the way down the side of the weld. There are 3 visible cracks just in that one shot. Who knows how many more there are that you can't see. Cast iron is what it is. You can't weld it and expect the welds to hold. It just isn't going to happen. There will be a 90+% failure rate no matter what rod you use, how you preheat/peen/cool it or what welding process you try. Brazing works sometimes but it is not structural. It only fills the gaps and helps to keep the crack from growing. You can not weld, braze or solder anything onto cast iron that will be weight bearing. There will be a 100% failure rate in that case. It sucks, but its just how it is. You'd have a better chance forge welding cast iron than using a welder.

[@anthonyraffin1034]

How would this work on holes drilled into a tool table, like a bandsaw or drillpress? Or is metal filled epoxy a better option?

[@Ecomake123]

Inconel 625 Gr8 Stuff. Cast Iron is definately not nearly impossible to weld.

[@bigears4014]

At about 5_40 it cracked , i used cast craft sticks on cast iron , they were superb, but castiron is always a lottery , depending on what was used to make it

[@hyperluminalreality1]

This guy does not know what the filler rod is made of, but keeps pulling it out of the gas shielded area while it is still molten on the end. You are supposed to keep your filler rod within the shielded gas area while dipping it. He should change his moniker. Mr.Tig is just bullshit. No arc shots like would be very easy to do either. Lack luster.

[@robertostman2075]

I think that I see a crack at minute 11:05... perhaps a preheat would be ideal, regardless of the welding rod... yet considering that the part is for a old water heater... a recasting of the part seems to me like a better option...

[@ronkincaid9341]

My most success welding cast iron is a crap shoot. Old us cast pretty good luck. China cast iron forget it.I have a 3by 3 by 1 ft stainless container.Start with 2 bags of charcoal place casting on top let burn down to gray do welding then back in coals with one more bag of charcoal on topLet burn till next day when cool seems to prevent cracking.Ron in ohio

[@davecarey4710]

Omg you’re a lucky man to work for Mr. Jay Leno! I would be very proud sir.

[@williepelzer384]

Groove both sides carbide burr., Grinding smears the silicon in the cast. They use silicon in the cast to make it flow . Preheat gas weld with brass Post heat part to normalize. Cool very slowly over night. Grind flush, take a needle scaler to the weld joint blend into the cast. Once painted it looks like new, but stronger. Been doing it for 50 years.

[@rlu1956]

Nichol or copper-bronze based alloys mix well with case iron. The high carbon content is always a crack threat. Nichol or copper based filler materials are soft, usually swallowing the stresses giving you a good weld. Brazing is always the safe option, cast iron.

[@paulswartz9104]

Any time you try to weld cast iron with this process first be sure the price of scrap iron is high because that's what you'll wind up with! This comment comes from a veteran cast iron welder. Too bad torch welding with brass or bare cast iron rod is almost a lost trade.

[@johndoe43]

For everyone guessing on cast iron heat the entire part to a minimum of dull cherry red maintaining this heat while welding with nickel rod then stabilize the dull red then immediately bury in sand or lime for approx 24 hrs. To heat most parts to this level use a forge or numerous oxy torches. This is hard to do on something like an engine head but it can be done. An object like a hobby vise isn't too bad. Most don't have access to a serious forge. If you get a car head red hot just getting close to it will be a little dangerous. Several years ago a couple of brothers down in Texas welded two 350 Chevy motors together heads and all. I think they were on the cover of hot rod magazine. They beat the he'll out of me or anything else I have seen on cast iron

[@Regalmetalworks]

I just ordered some of the ez-weld tig wire. I get a few cast iron repairs in & have been using 309 filler to fix them. It seems to work well, but if I can save acetylene and electric on the post heat, I am all game! Also Danny Kaye was great in every movie he ever did!

[@stefanczechorskidds8435]

That was really fun; Its rare that you see (Wyatt) Mr. Tig show any sense of humor. I'm sure Jay brought that out in him!

[@heher731.]

Nickel rod no preheat grind notch for weld and only weld maybe half inch at time and let cool pean with hammer right away. Have done it that way several times in several applications works well no cracks at all

[@MrForceStorms]

Radnor makes a stick elctrode for dissasemalar (not sure how to spell that) metals or cast iron, works wonders for this with a pre-heat

[@bradleematzdorff4003]

There is a square rod that is cast that oxyetylene welding does exceptional job a old pipeline welder taught me this he did cast work for machine shop in pipeline world. I’ve used it on cast skillets and it is same base metal as skillet.

[@jaratt85]

did anyone else notice the crack in it once he was done welding? It went right through the round spot he had been welding and right out further.. That's why they always say you need to cut all of the crack out right to the root of it so there's no jagged crystalline structure left for a crack to propagate out of.

[@DeWoodyard]

Is Steel or Iron Clay any kind of possibility for something like this? I come at this from jewelry and Precious Metal Clay, Art Clay Silver, and whomever else is making the fun putty you cook at insane heat. Fire, metal, and dangerous vapors aren't for everyone, but they have always worked for me.

[@jeffferguson899]

If you are going to weld cast iron,I personally would dig though that crack. pre heated it , welded it with silicon bronze for tig or nickel rod for gmaw then cooled it down slowly in a bucket of sand.

[@frednewman2162]

Really like to see follow up to this video!! Would you recommend it for all cast iron repairs? The question about this over pre-heat and slow cool down (like someone else addressed in comments) would be a major point on this procedure.

[@jamesford2942]

I would second that. I want to know what you think of the performance of the tig rod. Would this be good for welding a cracked cylinder head?

[@HVAC_Jae]

I would love to see a video on that old instant water heater.

[@MAINTMAN73]

Silicon bronze or aluminum bronze run on AC works like magic on cast iron

[@littleworkshopofhorrors2395]

So does powder welding.

[@paulb3095]

Nothing against you but you try to make it sound impossible to weld cast iron. Ive been doing it for 35 years, brazing, stick and mig welding it. The only time I couldn't get it done was on an old thin car exhaust manifold that was so dirty it wouldn't take. Im nothing special because I know there are thousands that weld cast iron with not problem and do it daily. Me thinks you are trying to toot your own horn.

[@hoboite1]

Just curious... Why not braise with brass rod? Deeply appreciate your art and skill, Sir. God bless.

[@quietmale00101]

good video and dont feel bad i remember watching re-runs of Danny Kay when i was a small kid

[@SplogMan]

Wow, that was Danny Kaye's! That is a cool water heater.

[@Blissterd1]

Imagine all of those hot showers he enjoyed from that thing!

[@continental_drift]

Imagine all the singing.

[@johnpossum556]

Imagine how that furniture dances at midnight!

[@ronkincaid9341]

Their some very nice brazing rods now both bronze and nickel alloys that work great on some castRon in ohio

[@mikeeagle2653]

It’s a base for a water heater. Not a hot water heater. You don’t heat hot water it’s already hot. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@ashlynblackie]

Why no Peening on this old cast iron? and is brazing better for cast fixing?

[@databang]

I heard about Jay Leon’s garage accident. Get better soon Jay!

[@moustachemike7128]

why are you promoting easy weld and not 309 rod or nickel 55 made for cast iron welding .??

[@ggggg4030]

Will a cast iron weld hold up to the high heat of a coal stove that could burn 24/7 for weeks?

[@emoryking5278]

I got my cast iron start from the Amish community near me its near all cast and they will repair it on and on , reason is horse drewn machinery is just not being built anymore.

[@richardhaisley1]

Certanium 889 stick rod, knock the coating off? and skip weld. I have successfully welded engine blocks like this,

[@crj1249]

Guy with the beer gut is huffing and puffing just from standing ! Wake up call

[@just_run12]

Do you use an AC/DC machine? And what type of welding wire?

[@G31mR]

"Crud and corruption..." That's welder-speak for "impurities". :)

[@ve7yan]

Get Jay's ass here and teach him how to weld

[@benlano2062]

no peening for stress relief ????? use to the old gas welding technique coool got to try

[@blackout7615]

I would never weld cast iron without pre and post heat. You can see and hear how bad it goes in this video.

[@peanutbutterisfu]

20 years ago I had a 1961 galaxy and one of the exhaust manifolds cracked. I just started my first real auto repair job fresh out of high school. It had the old y-block so I couldn’t find a new one anywhere other than this magazine that wanted like $700 which I absolutely didn’t have. The service manager said to bring it to his house and he will weld it up. Everyone said it wasn’t possible. Well he did weld it and it never broke for the time I had the car. His trick was heating the iron up before welding it, keeping it warm and letting it cool slowly so it didn’t crack.

[@thewayidoit8895]

I guess I'm Jays age, 62. I watched Danny Kaye movies in the 70's. Big show of the week or the Late show or even "Movie for a Sunday Afternoon". The welding looked great. Lesson learned, preheat and cool slowly. The filler is probably very low melt alloy. I have a iron project I plant to braze and keep the twmperature below the temperature at which the carbon will percipitate causing the "trash" issues.

[@dmmdmm5435]

tig brazing with bare silicon bronze rod works for me when all else fails

[@enginesllc9877]

We've been nickel spray welding cast iron blocks and heads since the 90's I helped write an owners manual for a spray welding torch way back when. "IT IS POSSIBLE TO COLD WELD CORNERS, BUT NEVER MIDDLES" A broken outboard starter bolt hole on a 350 Chevy is cold weldable. A freeze crack in the side of any block is not. A cylinder head crack anywhere near a combustion chamber is not. ~Heat the part up to 600F, forcing impurities to the surface, let cool, vee grind the crack for full penetration, shot blast the crust off. Reheat to 800-1200F, wrap the item in ceramic blanket leaving an opening for the crack to be repaired. Spray welding lays down like wet snow, with a grainy surface and color similar to sand cast iron. No pits or pinholes, stress free, drillable, threadable and structurally sound. No leaks. We warranty our cast iron nickel welds for 5 years.

[@bingosunnoon9341]

No more pre-heat with an oxidizing flame? Why not?

[@petermoygannon698]

I'd put a layer of JB Weld over the weld you done on the underside .

[@SnorrioK]

As I understand it, 100% nickel rod is sometimes used in these cast iron welds because it sort of acts like a solder instead of a weld; because the cast iron is so porous, the nickel is supposed to leak into the crack as it melts, "soldering" it together. But I am not stating it as a fact though.

[@bryanfoxx2292]

Yes I took welding from an old gentleman that was originally a blacksmith and could braze cast iron with a NICKLE rod with the use of a black powder looking flux. You heat the cast iron up to a cherry red and then braze. You don't ever get hotter then the cherry red stage. The nickel rod is a square rod. He did preheat and did the slow cool technique. Also on cracked engine blocks he would drill a small hole all the way through at each end of a crack then make a thin paste out of product called Lithrage (some time of lead powder) and thoroughly work

[@bryanfoxx2292]

(continued) that into the crack and with a ball peen hammer he would light peen around the crack to work the paste down into the crack. He would do this process several times until the crack would take no more of the paste. Let that set for at least 24 hours then it was good to go. The name of the product is LITHARGE which is Lead oxide. The paste was made by mixing the lead oxide powder with glycerin.

[@abcertweld]

Cast Iron is not hard to weld if you know what you are doing. Pre heat, Pre Heat, Pre Heat make a groove then use 55 nickel rod, and then post heat, post heat, post heat. If it is a crack drill a hole at each end then make a groove in the crack. I've welded a cast housing hydraulic pump that produces 3,600psi and never leaked, and is still in use 10years later. You just have to learn how to weld cast iron properly. Here is a suggestion on how to get good at Cast Iron. Go to yard sales and get old iron skillets for dirt cheap then break and crack them, and practice welding them up, or old engine blocks.

[@ydonl]

"These aren't the water heaters you're looking for."