welding cast steel

admin

Hello, I have a project I’m working on and I just need somebody to confirm the proper method.  I will not be attempting this my self and I will take it to a professional.  What I have is a cast steel wheel spindle from a vehicle, roughly 3/8”-1/2” thick, and I need to weld a steel plate behind it that is the same thickness.My question is, what is the ideal welding process to ensure proper lap joint combining cast steel and billet steel or another type of similar strength steel?  I would like to ask the welder these questions to see how knowledgeable he is on the subject.  Thank you in advance.
Reply:Pictures are worth a thousand words. The process to use really depends more on the weld joint. I've done cast steel to mild steel befor at the shop I worked at. We just used mig, and or flux core. But you could stick weld it, or if the casting is clean you could even use tig. Cast steel isn't the same as cast iron. It should be easily weldable since it's carbon content is close to mild steel. Though cast steel may have more impurities in it depending on the casting process. Sand inclusions was a common problem with the castings I would weld. A welding process with a flux (flux core or stick) will help some if there is any contamination. On rare occasion we would get a brittle casting. Don't know if the chemestry was off or if the casting was cooled to fast and thus hardened. It would result in cracking in the casting from the weld shrinking. Some post heating helps eliminate this. But like I said, it was on rare occasion, so we only did post heat when we had to repair cracks.Hope that helps some.
Reply:Thank you so much!  That was actually very informative and helpful for me.
Reply:Glad I could help. But you may want to check back to see if any one else has any additional information. I've only welded cast steel from one supplier. Others may have different experiences with cast steel.