Welding broken cast iron coat rack.

[Ed of all trades]

I ave an antique cast iron coat rack that my sister broke. It is about 4 pieces that go from the bottom to the top. The bottom has a lot of cross bracing and so does the top so there will be some stress as I weld it together. It is in storage about 100 mi from here so no pics. any ideas? Just spent a while looking for a pic on line and found nothing like it. Just pic your hands, palms toward you and all 4 fingers lapped on the fingers of the other hand and welding your fingers together. Ed

 

[yomax4]

Send it to me and I'll fix it with Spray Powder.

 

[CalG]

Epoxy! Heck, It's a coat rack!

(modern structural adhesives are remarkable in what they can do. Check out 3M 2216)

Baring that, braze the repair, welding small cast iron "filigree" is for the birds.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Send it to me and I'll fix it with Spray Powder.

Looked up spray powder and all I got was deodorant, What are you talking about?

CalG
Thanks for the tip on the adhesives. sounds like a great way to get past warpage from heat. Ed

 

[Shield Arc]

Looked up spray powder and all I got was deodorant, What are you talking about?

Here is a video of it.
Cast iron spray powder welding - YouTube

 

[yomax4]

Here is a video of it.
Cast iron spray powder welding - YouTube

I didn't think there would be a tube vid on spray powder. The guy needs a little practice though. Way too hot and takes way to long to close up the opening. Thanks for posting.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Thanks Yomax4 and Shield arc That is a new one to me. I want one but I would have to go around with a big hammer breaking things so I could practice fixing them. Ed

 

[Big Barn]

Thanks Yomax4 and Shield arc That is a new one to me. I want one but I would have to go around with a big hammer breaking things so I could practice fixing them. Ed

I'd be happy to lend a hand, Ed. I won't need the hammer...


Terry

 

[Ed of all trades]

I'd be happy to lend a hand, Ed. I won't need the hammer...


Terry

Yea but the commute would be a killer. Ed

 

[Danno1]

.



I vote brazing. FWIW ($.02).


.

 

[Cord]

Nickle rod. It's surprisingly easy to weld cast iron.

 

[TheMadOne]

Nickle rod. It's surprisingly easy to weld cast iron.

Without knowing the thickness of the broken sections, I'm torn between solutions. You can weld cast pretty easily with a nickle rod. My mother's favorite skillet cracked down the side and it welded right up pretty nicely. However, getting enough pre/post heat was critical. Not sure how well thin cast would hold up to that. Brazing is a good all around solution, and it's a coat rack, hardly requires the repair to be just as strong as the original. Epoxy would work too.

Many ways to skin this cat.

 

[carmedic310]

Fusor made by the lord company would work.You can get it at any parts store that carries body shop supplies.They have used this stuff to actually glue water tanks to concrete mixer trucks.They used it to put the body panels on the old chevy lumina apv vans.i went to General Motors training class in the 80s they put a long crowbar between the panels and the steel frame and pried the panel off every place the bead of fusor was it ripped the steel off as well.Very strong structural adhesive.Other than that I would just braze it and repaint

 

[cmore]

I have used brazing and the AC cast iron rod. Both worked fine but I did try and weld a short area and then ping while the weld was cooling. Took my time.

 

[Ed of all trades]

Thanks guys. I went over to where I have it stored and saw it is a single piece where it is broken si I will likely braze it. I was thinking from what my sister had said that it was in a place where 4 pieces were between two solid pieces and I was afraid to try to heat it. But with only one piece It should braze well. Ed

 

[rosso1000]

It could be done with stick welder and FERROWELD electrodes