[TheForge] welding 1 1/2" square

[Peter Fels and Phoebe Palmer]

RW: Sure...lots of little stringer beads.
That is a pretty big bead to be practical for oxy acet but it can be done, 
economics be damned.
First, V out the weld all the way around so you can get good penetration. 
Next enclose the pieces to be welded in fire-bricks below and on both 
sides. That will contain the heat to a great degree. Sometimes , if you 
have almost enough heat to wet the surfaces of the base metal, but not 
quite enough, Heat as hot as you can get it  and  turn up the acet so a 
feather of unburned  fuel shows  around the inner cone of the flame. This 
will introduce some extra carbon to the surface of the metal and lower it's 
melting temperature enough to look wet and  thus get the weld to stick.


At 05:31 AM 1/24/02, you wrote:
>Is it possible to butt weld 1 1/2" solid mild steel with a 230 amp max., AC
>220v welder?
>It does not need to be a "structural weld", just to hold a fireplace grate
>frame together.
>I tried it with a #7 oxy/acet tip which is for 1 1/4" max and it is not much
>better than if I had used chewing gum.
>RW
>
>
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