Welding 1/8 cold rolled steel becomes weak.

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I'm trying to weld some 3 inch rings together to hold candle glass .  I'm using 1/8 cold rolled rod. after welding the ring together i'm adding a 1 inch piece of the same rod to it to give them more distance from the wall.     ---O     < kinda like that.    anyways my issue is after welding it up I test the strength of it and it breaks after 2 bends back and forth.  The welds are holding but on the 1 inch part it's breaking off just above the weld where the heat got to it. I tried breaking a piece that wasnt welded and it held up much better it took about 6 back and forth bends to snap it.     Is this an issues cause it's 1/8? or cause it cold rolled?  anything  I can do?  This is putting a big damper on my projects for safety reasons.
Reply:Originally Posted by Titan UpI'm trying to weld some 3 inch rings together to hold candle glass .  I'm using 1/8 cold rolled rod. after welding the ring together i'm adding a 1 inch piece of the same rod to it to give them more distance from the wall.     ---O     < kinda like that.    anyways my issue is after welding it up I test the strength of it and it breaks after 2 bends back and forth.  The welds are holding but on the 1 inch part it's breaking off just above the weld where the heat got to it. I tried breaking a piece that wasnt welded and it held up much better it took about 6 back and forth bends to snap it.     Is this an issues cause it's 1/8? or cause it cold rolled?  anything  I can do?  This is putting a big damper on my projects for safety reasons.
Reply:Originally Posted by Titan UpThis is putting a big damper on my projects for safety reasons.
Reply:OK, what im making is metal candle holders that mount on a wall.  I will be selling these and i was worried that if they owners some how manage to bend them or they get bent while shipping that when they go to straighten them they could break.  And i dont heat them to long cause they melt after about 2 seconds.  i quickly have to weld them. i use a flux core welder.  I try and turn the heat down and weld even quicker.heres one of of the pieces i make.   Am i just worrying to much for what i need it to do?Last edited by Titan Up; 04-15-2012 at 01:14 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by riley mcmillanCold rolled steel, (1018) is work hardened. Doesn't form well on a tight bend.  The heat zone removes the work hardened condition and becomes the weakest part.  Cold rolled has a tensile strength of about 80 thousand psi.  The heat zone is about 65k psi.
Reply:You are probably worrying too much.  Pack them well and I doubt you'll have any issues. I doubt under normal "use" there's any chance they will "fail".How big in diameter are those candles? I'm thinking shot glass size. The picts make the rods look larger than 1/8". They look closer to 1/4"- 3/16" to me,  but it could be an optical illusion since there's no reference other than the candles.A bit plain for my personal taste, but very nice. Add a few leaves, maybe some grapes or even some sort of work on the end of the vertical piece..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:Flux core welder and 1/8" material tell me everything I need to know.Tig would be my first choice, followed closely by O/A.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by SundownIIIFlux core welder and 1/8" material tell me everything I need to know.Tig would be my first choice, followed closely by O/A.
Reply:Originally Posted by Titan Upthanks for that info!