welding cast iron hinges

admin

I just bought a house built in 1862 and have lots of shutters with broken hinges. I have tigged cast iron on automotive engine blocks but of course nothing this old. Any hints, tips etc. will be appreciated.
Reply:Are the pins also cast iron and how worn or rusty are they? Is the body metal fairly solid, or pitted and porous?Photos would be helpful.If you want to preserve the shape and texture, you might be able to braze or even Silver braze them better.Some of those alloys are very strong and easy to work with. If you do TIG weld them, I would think a high nickel rod would be the best filler material. You might still want to anneal them afterwards since they are probably thin and any brittleness could lead to early failure.Do you have any which are so bad as to be un-fixable, which you could experiment on? Or maybe something else of similar size and material?
Reply:I have discovered over the years the older the cast iron, the better quality of the casting.  The best weld I achieved on cast was the exhaust manifold of a 1935 Mack Fire Truck.  The problem with today's cast iron is there's no pride in craftsmanship.  Hurry up, let's get production out the door mentality.  Lots of sand pockets in todays casting.  You'll probably be o.k. repairing them.  Brazing would be fine for your repair.  Pins should be steel, simply remove pin, braze, redrill if necessary, paint and you're done.BTW the BEST rod I have ever used for arc welding repair of cast iron is Allstate 4-60.  I have those high dollar rods from Eutectic and Cronatron.  They don't even come  close to the 4-60.  I use the 3/32" size.