Cutting cast iron

I need to cut some iron castings. What can I do, perhaps with a special welding rod or 6010?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus10918
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I need to cut some iron castings. What can I do, perhaps with a special welding rod or 6010?

Reply to
Ignoramus10918

Ignoramus10918 fired this volley in news:Df2dnSoX2bF00D7OnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Ig, Depending upon the web thickness a good hard recip blade works wonders.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

These are 1-2 inch castings

Reply to
Ignoramus10918

Ignoramus10918 fired this volley in news:W6-dnfMLG9sTxj7OnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

That's not even a small cut, Ig. I frequently modify Chinese arbor presses for my clients. Some of the 3-ton jobs have areas thicker than that (though not many... they _really_ skimp on the webs).

What won't fit on my big bandsaw gets the Milwaukee treatment. They cut like butter.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

You should be able to make a simple oxygen lance in your shop. A diy arc air rig will also work. Both are fast and easy to make. Incase the material is oily or greasy have a couple of co2 extingquishers near by and a helper watch out for any fires that may erupt.

Best Regards Tom.

Reply to
Howard Beal

I can't speak to cast iron and welding rod as I haven't cut it with anything but a plasma torch but I have used 3/16" 60xx rod running at

300 amps to easily burn through 1" steel. My son and I cut up a lathe with my plasma cutter. The plasma cutter is rated at 10 inches per minute for 3/4" steel. We cut through 3" thick cast iron with it by veeing out the cut. Once we got the hang of it we could sever the cast iron pretty darn fast. Eric
Reply to
etpm

Explosives!

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Tom Gardner fired this volley in news:boudnW4KmL3e5D7OnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

ACtually, Ig.... he's not far from right.

One of the most valuable tools for 'cutting' thin sections of cast iron (and you have thin sections) is a BFH.

A ten-pound sledge in the hands of a strong fellow can make a small pile of chunks out of a big casting in a matter of minutes.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Are there welding rods that can do it without air? This is a scrap job and I do not have a lot of compressed air. I heard that wet 6010 can cut it. I will try it tomorrow in the morning in my shop. I can take a welder there.

Reply to
Ignoramus10918

Eric, this is great. I have a bunch of 1/8" 6010 (really a lot of them) and I will see how they work, in the morning.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus10918

Ignoramus10918 fired this volley in news:fc2dnd5LL7aUGD7OnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Then it's not 'cast iron'. Maybe cast semi-steel.

Lloyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

I think that it is cast iron, but very high quality. It is a base frame for a Miehle printing die cutter. The reason why I want to break it is that it is too big to fit into a scrap trailer.

The entire machine weighs 25,000 lbs. We took and broke off a lot of pieces, but the main frame of it also needs breaking down.

The casting is ribbed smartly and is 1-2 inches thick.

I have right now a hydraulic attachment (concrete breaker) for a bobcat. Since I have a S300 bobcat, I can try to see if this attachment would also break cast iron.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus10918

None that i am aware of. They all use O2 or a compressed gas source. Let us know how the wet 6010 works on metal that thick. I have seen metal cut with 6011 at 500A AC. but it was only 1/2" thick.

Best Regards Tom.

Reply to
Howard Beal

I will try in the morning

Reply to
Ignoramus10918

Just wondering out loud here, but would one of those electric breaker hammers or jack hammers with a chisel bit work to break up cast iron (ignoring the question of whether Iggy has cast iron or not)? I've got to replace a cast iron tub and I'm not that great with a sledgehammer :-).

Tom Gardner fired this volley in news:boudnW4KmL3e5D7OnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

ACtually, Ig.... he's not far from right.

One of the most valuable tools for 'cutting' thin sections of cast iron (and you have thin sections) is a BFH.

A ten-pound sledge in the hands of a strong fellow can make a small pile of chunks out of a big casting in a matter of minutes.

Lloyd

Reply to
Carl Ijames

People, please, this is for sure cast iron. It is quality and tough cast iron.

Cast iron is not like concrete and I do not think that you can dig into it like you do with a small breaker and concrete. It does not crumble, but it can be smashed. At large scrap yards, they break cast iron machines with huge hydraulic breakers mounted on excavators, or drop them on hard surfaces, lifting them with a grapple attachment.

I will try to use a Bobcat-mounted atlas copco concrete breaker, and wet 6010 rod. I need to learn to cut cast iron efficiently.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus10918

================= How thick and how big?

If this will be frequent look into an arcair or clone set up. [hollow electric carbon arc with shop air -- makes a big mess. Be sure to wear a respirator under your hood unless you like hawking up big black goobers]

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Reply to
F. George McDuffee

Could be malleable or ductile cast iron.

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Reply to
F. George McDuffee

Oxy lance, magnesium burning, termite burning.

Martin

Reply to
Martin Eastburn

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