Welding Cast Iron - Manifolds

[vze28h54 at verizon.net (Chris)]

At 08:59 PM 06/11/2004 -0700, Larry Fry wrote:
>I cannot imagine silver soldering a cast iron manifold and would bet money
>it could not be done.

They refer to their product as "silver solder" (SSF-6 Silver Solder), but 
it is used with the O/A torch so it is actually brazing not soldering. 
Maybe they should rename it "SBF-6 Silver Braze".

>You CAN, however, use an oxy-cetylene torch and BRAZE
>the cracks satisfactorily (stop-drilling first is a good idea).
>Cast iron can be successfully arc welded using a nickel-based filler but it
>would take about 250 amps to do it, which would rule out any 120VAC home
>welder.

With their "72 Rod" they recommend that one "Use AC or DC with reverse 
polarity. (70-110 amps for 1/8" rods, 95-140 amps for 5/32" rods)

>The easiest way is with metallic arc (aka "stick"), so with the right
>preparation, i.e. grinding out the crack for a full-penetration weld, it
>should be a fairly straight-forward task.
>   Larry
>sandiego16v

Will you be posting your mailing address so we can send our manifolds to 
you so you put the product to the acid test?  :-)

Chris




> > I have seen several posts recently about OEM manifolds developing cracks
> > and being discarded.  (For those not familiar with welding, cast iron [as
> > in manifolds, not the railing down your front steps] presents special
> > problems and often has unsatisfactory results.)
> >
> > I ran over this site:   www.muggyweld.com   They claim to have
>satisfactory
> > solutions for cast iron welding.  1) a combination of two types of welding
> > electrodes. Can be done on a 120 volt welder if I recall correctly.  2.
> > Silver solder applied using an oxy-acetylene torch.
> > they have a couple of nice video demos.  Their customer list, if
>authentic,
> > is impressive. A small combo pack of their electrodes can be had for about
> > $40.  Probably enough to do 4 or more manifolds.
> >
> > Maybe one of our intrepid welders will test it and give us a report.
>Those
> > 4 into 2 manifolds are getting more scarce every day.  Maybe we can save
> > some.  (According to the site some repairs can be made without removing
>the
> > manifold.  Wouldn't that be sweet? But who would be lucky enough to have
> > the crack on the top in an accessible spot?)
> >
> > Chris