I'm a relative novice and have never used A36 steel. I'm building a wood splitter and bought an A36 wedge, which came with instructions to use a low hydrogen rod. Do I need to worry about this if I'm using a MIG, or should I find someone with a stick welder?
Do I need to
a large hunk or iron should be plenty strong to split wood, the edge may dull some, but under hydraulic load the wedge should continue to work for a long time.
i guess mig or stick all depends on how the wedge will be welded to base, if it has a backplate or not. heavy mig should work, stick probably quicker and easier.
rod. Do I need to
If the part is over an inch thick it is advisable to preheat and use lo-hi. If the item is thick then a preheat around 200 F is more than enough and you likley could change to an electrode you are used to. Gas Metal Arc Welding ( GMAW) of MIG is naturally a low hydrogen process. Just make sure you preheat. Some shops preheat items 3/4 inch and over to eliminate any doubt.
Randy
rod. Do I need to
OK, What would you recommend? I am also building a logsplitter, and I was wondering about getting a piece of 1/2" steel, flame cutting an edge on it, and then using hardsurfacing stick to create a more durable cutting edge.
Opinion?
"NorthStar 12in. Splitter Wedge Comes sharpened,1in. thick, 6in. long. Made of A36 carbon steel. Use low hydrogen rod to weld to beam."
Further down in the write up it adds:
"Additional Specifications: * Steel hardness rating: 1045 "
A36 is a plain vanila low carbon steel that can be welded with most any process and minimal issues with HAZ, embrittlement, etc.
1045 steel is .45% carbon, is a mid range carbon steel, and is defiantely subject to HAZ effects, embrittlement, work hardening, hardening and tempering, and all the rest. It certaily should be welded with a lo-hi rod like 7018 or similar. The 1" thickness and specific use for this says that you are going to have a LOT of heat added to the piece and will be doing some interesting on site metalurgy!IMHO the term "A36" is used indiscrimately to signify that the steel is NOT something special ie stainless, HSLA, etc etc. "Steel hardness rating: 1045" is also meaningless since hardness is mesured in scales like Rockwell or similar.
Net: The whole ad description is worthless! But Northern Tool started business as a log splitter place, they know what they are doing (most of the time!) So just buy the item and weld it with Lo-hi rod.
cheers.
Lawrence Farries wrote:
"A36" actually refers to the ASTM A36 spec. It's the basic mild steel, with (among other things) a 36ksi yield point. A36 is the default steel to be used in steel buildings and bridges according to the AISC unless something else is specified.
The spec is actually very specific, but since I only have access to the ASTM's at work, I can't cite more.
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