Can I do this with a 120 v welder?

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A friend's fireplace grate broke and she needs it welded. It's 1/2" square rod. I'm willing to try (Lincoln SP-135 Plus) but here's how I'd do it. Full bevel, 1/16" open root and multiple passes with flux core, preheat the first pass with a Mapp gas torch (only thing I have), welder on maximum.   I wish I had 220v and a stick welder but I don't. Any thoughts on whether that'll work or not?
Reply:It's 1/2" bar stock so it can handle heat, not because it bears a lot of load. Give it a little bevel and make a few passes. I doubt  you need to preheat it.Eventual master of the obvious, practitioner of "stream of consciousness fabrication".  P.S. I edit almost every post because because I'm posting from my phone and my fingers sometimes move faster than my brain.
Reply:You may or may not have issues with this if It's what I think it is. It's not that the machine can't possibly do the welds, it's that the material itself may give you issues.If by "grate" you mean the grate on which logs burn in the fire place, in many cases if they build hot fires, the material may be compromised. Just like when I screw up and leave steel in my forge too long, high heat and oxygen can burn steel leaving you a bunch of oxidized iron to work with. In some cases this can be just a surface coating, but in extreme cases, it might be that the material itself is severely compromised. The grinder is your friend here. Grind off as much of the surface around the joint as possible to remove any bad material. V out well and weld. I doubt preheat is really needed on something like this, but as long as you don't contaminate the weld area with carbon from the torch, you should be good.If you are having issues with a lot of porosity, and weak welds, I'd bet the material is you problem. Not seeing it, right now I can't say one way or the other..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Very interesting. I never would have thought of that. Is there any way to inspect the metal to see if it's been damaged or how badly? Magnet won't stick, porous looking, etc?The alternative suggested was for her to hire my grandson to forge (on his coal forge) a new one for her out of new stock (she'd rather pay him than Amazon). But I'd still need to weld the upright "log holders" onto the base rods. My machine would certainly do that but being that thick, the penetration might not be much more than "hot gluing" them together.  I don't see how I could do any beveling, do you think it would hold together anyway if I used the maximum setting and went slow? Would I need to create a wide fillet with multiple passes or would one slow pass work?
Reply:Picts would help. When steel is "burned" it gets this lumpy bubbly look to it many times. The uglier it looks, the worse it got. I think you would be able to recognize if it was really bad. It's when the top layer is bad and it still looks" good" where you might have issues if you don't prep well.I've seen several of these forged with out any welds. You could use half laps and rivets for example, or pass thru joints..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:With the joint prep and preheat I don't think you should have a problem, it doesn't take too long for heat to build up in square bar. Plug the machine into the wall or a heavy duty extension cord.
Reply:Like DSW mentioned, the existing steel may be too far gone to bother.Building a new grate isn't hard nor expensive. I knocked this together from some rebar and 3/4" bolts using a 120V MIG:It's held up fine for the past 2 years.The hardest part was getting the bends uniform. (fail)Be wary of The Numbers: Figures don't lie,. but liars can figure.Welders:2008 Lincoln 140 GMAW&FCAW2012 HF 165 'toy' GTAW&SMAW1970's Cobbled together O/A
Reply:So it seems like welding a new one would work if the old one is too far gone. There's little force, torque or pressure on it so deep penetration isn't as much of an issue.In terms of forge joining the pieces, he's not near experienced enough to do that. It's probably much easier if he shapes the pieces and I weld them up. I'd post pics but I haven't seen the grate yet, just heard about it on the phone.
Reply:I have repaired my numerous grates with scrap re-bar.  Repairs will extend the life for about a year and then it's junk.   I consider the grates to be a consumable item that requires periodic replacement; usually find decent economical replacements at my local Home Depot.IMHO:  The grates are really not worth putting in any serious time or material.  It might be a fun project for the youngsters to play with.