How useful welding is in DIY?

[Munroast]

I have on more than one occasion picked the item up with my bare hands that I have just welded to inspect my workmanship - who would ever of thought it would be hot and i would burn my fingers - lol

 

[Burnerman]

.......and if you don't wear bloody great gauntlets:
'My my - where did all that sunburn come from'
John

 

[Lower]

Kept watching youtube videos on welding, and learnt some basic skills and equipment for welding. I chose to use Arc (stick) welding for the simplicity.
Bought a couple of cheap welders from eBay and Amazon. Have done some welding practice with scrap metal and 6013 rods.
And welded the broken iron cast vintage pillar drill. It took a few days for cleaning up the broken parts to be welded prior to welding with dremmel, and waiting for dry weather doing it outdoor in the garden.
Today, it has been all done. The pillar drill was solid, and working OK. Did some drilling on chunk of wood, and it was drilling nicely.
Welding can be dangerous due to high amp it uses and crazy hot temp generated from the welding rods and the base metal during welding process. But if all the safe regulations are kept heeded, and one know what is going on, it is a very useful DIY activities. It can do a lot in DIY.

You'll probably find that the metal around the weld will crack over time if you didn't preheat it.

 

[spader]

You'll probably find that the metal around the weld will crack over time if you didn't preheat it.

Did preheat with torch before welding.

 

[spader]

The welded area feels stronger than the original metal. When trying to grind it, it is very hard to grind it down due to solidity of the 6013 rod.
If it cracks, then just re-weld it, but cannot see it would ever crack or come apart.
The drill works very good. Only problem is the welded area is a bit unsightly but we could live with that.

 

[Lower]

The welded area feels stronger than the original metal. When trying to grind it, it is very hard to grind it down due to solidity of the 6013 rod.
If it cracks, then just re-weld it, but cannot see it would ever crack or come apart.
The drill works very good. Only problem is the welded area is a bit unsightly but we could live with that.

You often find that welded cast iron cracks around the weld due the the stresses caused by the contraction in the welding metal as it cools. It can take some time for it to become apparent.

Hopefully your preheating has worked and it won't crack.

 

[spader]

You often find that welded cast iron cracks around the weld due the the stresses caused by the contraction in the welding metal as it cools. It can take some time for it to become apparent.

Hopefully your preheating has worked and it won't crack.

Yeah, will keep on eye on the weld. Will update here if it cracked, or not.

 

[spader]

Photo of the welded drill.

 

[cdbe]

Looks good. I'm sure if you were some kind of old fashioned artisan/blacksmith type you could whack it with a big hammer and tell whether it's cracked by the tone of the clang.

 

[spader]

Looks good. I'm sure if you were some kind of old fashioned artisan/blacksmith type you could whack it with a big hammer and tell whether it's cracked by the tone of the clang.

Saw someone doing it on youtube, and the unwelded original metal broke. The weld was intact. Welded part is seems even stronger than the original metal. Even this pillar drill is rock solid right now, and works treat. I just want to keep using it as is

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

How easy is welding to learn? Would it be a must skill for DIYer? Or is it regarded as a professional work?

There are endless number of jobs which can be tackled with an electric welder and it is well worth learning how to, plus fairly easy to get the hang of it.

As said above, I suspect a drill will be mostly cast components, so probably not an appropriate technique.

 

[spader]

I am sure there are professional and more proper ways to repair the breakage of the cast iron pillar drill, but that was best I could try repairing by myself using the cheapest tools and materials I could afford, and my first time ever DIY welding attempt.

My object was to get the drill up and working. Otherwise it would have been lying in the shed in broken pieces forever, and maybe would have been discarded into the bin. Now it is a fully working tool. I drilled a few wood blocks and some steel pipes using the repaired drill, and it works treat.

Plus now I could try other welding jobs with the welder and left over electrodes I have. This was a well worth the effort and time project for me.

 

[Burnerman]

For sure, you tackled probably the most difficult welding repair of all time.....weld penetration isn’t probably too good but it’s done the job and that’s all that matters.
Well done! Treat yourself to a MIG next xmas.
John

 

[lostinthelight]

Interesting reading on welding cast:
https://www.weldpundit.com/mig-weld-cast-iron/

 

[spader]

The welded pillar drill is holding up well. No sign of cracks or breaking.