Cast Iron Welding Repair using Flux Core Wire 

MORE WELDING AND FABRICATION VIDEOS HERE:ru-vid.com/group/PLfbf78fMz9Vol0uX2-GNc6mLi75zpqb5f LEARN HOW TO WELD VIDEOS HERE:ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ADa1I319GJ0.html This video is for demonstration purposes only using a known cast iron material. Do not attempt to repair cast iron pans. If the weld fails there is a high risk of bodily injury, death or fire from hot grease. I misspoke when I said the moisture is in the metal. The moisture is a byproduct of combustion.

For those that know everything, please tolerate those of us that don't. Good video and good series. Thank you.

I gotta say that I'm really impressed with your patience of the nay sayers! This episode of using the flux cored wire hit close to home because years ago all I had was a 110v Lincoln and the family ski boat froze over winter due to my lack of enthusiasm winterizing it. When my wife and I brought it out for the 1st startup, we had a bad water leak under the intake of the inline Chevy 6 cylinder. Pulled the intake and found a crack almost the entire length of the engine 1/2" below he deck surface. I called a friend who had recently retired from the local metal manufacturing plant and explained what I had. He told me to use the .030 steel wire, open the argon and oxygen mix all the way and run my current as hot as I could. He also said heat my starting point to about 600° then with the wire form a puddle the size of a dime and continue until the crack was filled in. I thought there was no way it'd work because I was taught that only nickel was the cure! That was 1996, I still own the boat and there has never been one single drop of water from that crack. To this day I use the wire on most cast jobs with 100% weld. I couldn't figure out how only heating the starting starting point was needed. After years of thinking on it I can only assume the dime sized puddle allows the heat generated to flow forward the weld at the correct temp and speed. I believe him and should never have questioned him, I mean he'd worked all his life and retired from working with cast iron that he knew what he was talking about. Have a great day!

I remember as a farm kid in the 60’s and early 70,s we only had an AC stick welder. It was amazing how many things we welded that way “that couldn’t be done.” It really taught me that if for instance 91lbs of force was way more than the part was subjected to in its normal use then that was a fine way to weld it! They sometimes weren’t as pretty but I also learned prep and fit up made a huge difference.

I’ve been welding for 48yrs. you are absolutely right in the way your going about welding items that unprofessional welders may not know because they haven’t been thru many many different problems that need to be repaired and cannot wait for the school instructors methods. their teachings are not OJT welding. They are just teaching by a single rule book. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

I have always been of the mindset that I will fix it myself rather than pay to have it fixed. Saved thousands of dollars over the years. Welding has always been my downfall. I recently bought a POS wire welder to fix my lawn tractor that a certified welder wanted 150 to start and extra for wire/sticks used. I got this POS welder offline for 77 dollars and after watching videos like yours I managed to repair my tractor and get back to mowing the lawn. I for one thank folks like you that offer up free knowledge.

Just for conversation sake if you were repairing a skillet this way I would consider it a win. This was an inexpensive repair and I have made some big meals but I can't load 90lbs of pork chops into a skillet!

Thank you for doing this! For 15 years, I've been thinking about cutting the handle off a thrift store skillet and flipping it around so I can use it on my Big Green Egg. Now that I have a multi-process welder, I'm making all these dreams happen. This was a great piece of research. I always put in an exhaustive amount of research before any project. My Dad taught me, "we all learn from mistakes; it's cheapest to learn from others' mistakes". (We grew up in Appalachia, where "cheap" is the highest virtue. Also, cheap means maximum value. Investments that fail or cause injury are NOT cheap.) It's hard to do "research" when everyone does it the same way. I'm glad you are here doing this. Thank you, Brother.

I know this is about three years ago but your doing just fine and correctly for home or small shop repair. I'm a certified MIG, TIG, ARC, OXY/ACC, Plazma Arc welding in 9 metal groups and have been certified since 1995. Also hold an Aeronautical, Heavy Equipment, & shipboard certifications. So I've been around the block and what your doing sir for a quick home/small shop repair on cast steel is right on. Aluminum cast is a bit more complicated but I'm sure you've been able to figure that out. Anyway thanks for posting as I'm sure it will help many home & small shop repair individuals.

That is an excellent mig welder. I regret selling the one I had. It has great range, from sheet metal to 3/8" it is smooth!! And reliable. Thank you for this video.

Well done! You are so right about the screws and the sand! When something get broken you take what you have got at home to repare it. Stefan 👍

I have an older version of the same welder. Absolutely no regrets! It’s amazing what can be done with some thought, patience, and ingenuity. I like to make every effort to overcome a need without blowing a bunch of money on a new machine for a single little job. I like the way you roll. Thanks for the video. Never considered welding cast iron with it. Now I have to go try it out for myself. 👍

I'm a novice welder and I like how you test welds and explain the equipment and usage.. Great instructional video.

Brandon, you not only come up with “other way’s” of doing things, but your explanation’s, demonstration’s, and TESTING your work are a credit to your craft! I’m new to welding, and I have a large cast iron cauldron with a long crack in it. I feel confident I can weld it up myself, let it cool, and grind it back down, hopefully, never to crack again. The wall thickness is maybe HALF of what a cast iron skillet is, so, I hope I can repair it without destroying it in the process. THANK YOU!!

Woo-Hoo! I did it and was able to repair one retraction eye on a heavy notcher used to cut 16 ga. steel. This is a heavy *Costly* tool, big hunk of stuff I can't lift by myself. I preheated, welded, and insulated it as it cooled. As the old guy said: "Grinders and paint make me the welder I ain't." But in the end it is pretty damned good! Thank you Brandon! This was a life saver.

I've been welding for many yrs ,I still like to experiment ,just like this ,you learn many things about what works and what don't ,at one time you had only gas,stick and brazing ,you learned to do a lot of stuff with what you had. welding today has become so hi tech .I cant keep up .don,t apologize for the haters ,you're doing good.

I have repaired cast several ways. This is about as easy as it gets. Great job!!!!! Damn good repair. I bet my bacon cooking would never break your repair. Can’t believe others would complain about your technique or instruction. I find that funny. I bet the ones that criticize are amateurs. Thank you for sharing I am always looking for an edge

As long as it holds a pancake, it's good enough for me!

I like this! As a welder that specializes in SS GTAW, I have repaired backhoe hydraulic rams to T50 buckets using SMAW and FCAW and there are weld procedures, pre heats, inner pass temps for each structural steel when safety is required, but I really like the experiments. Nothing gains a better understanding than a failure. For this pan, you'll never cook eggs or a steak more than 100lbs so if Self-shielded flux works, it works! A metallurgy course, temp crayons or thermal gun is very useful in these types of situations. Keep up the good work! 👍

Nice going Brandon, giving new ideas is always good, it is how knowledge progresses. I have never stopped being open minded or looking at things from outside of the box. Never allow others who think they are superior to stop you from being inventive, if you think you have a new idea and it works, use it if you can, it may become the preferred method even if it is unorthodox or not the norm. Cast iron is not difficult if you have the knowledge of how past failures taught you the methods that work for you today. There are machines out there that stilĺ work that I fixed welding cast to steel 45 years ago with methods that were called impossible and almost cost me my job, and the people who would have condemned my work if they could have are now long gone, those machines outlived them. Hats off and regards. J.

Great channel! You're doing what others wonder about and that's a good thing! I grew up poor and never had the right tools for any job, everything was jury-rigged as they say, everything was 90% figuring out how, and 10% cost because we didn't have the money to just call up an expert to come running. These days I'm fortunate to be able to pay others do work, but I still think in terms of what can "I" do myself and your videos bring that out! You're not trying to sell the latest brazing rod and call it "welding" you just show what can be done equipment on hand. Flux Core welders are dirt cheap and probably the easiest way to weld and certainly less expensive than a gas setup and all the crap that goes with that!

I love guys who do this. So many times I hear that "it can't be done", "you can't mig weld cast", you can't weld stainless with pure argon" etc. Turns out you can do all kinds o things at home. They may not meet lawsuit criteria or some safety factor that a metallurgy engineer established, but for most practical purposes there are tons of 'non-standard' things you can do that work perfectly well for home or emergency use. Thank you very much for doing these videos

These videos are awesome. I'm not the greatest welder by any means, but I can and do weld almost daily and I've learned things on all the videos I've watched thus far. Thank you.

Thank you for the push. I needed to weld a bronze part from an old Russwin morticed lock set. It had worn from 80 years of service. All I have is a flux core welder so after your video I gave it a go. It worked and now my house has its front door lock functioning at 100%.

I’ve used several fire bricks underneath and around the edges and acetylene to preheat the material. Then nirod for the weld repair, added more fire bricks on top and let it cool slowly to prevent cracking. Good job.

I totally did this once when my mom dropped my skillet. I didn't use preheat or Bevel the edges. I just cleaned and welded it and it still seems to be holding well

I don't know everything and im always learning. I have 25+ years of experience welding and fabricating yet my methods are very dated yet they work just fine for the work I do. Here is my 2 cents on cast. What you did with flux core that is a great method I have done it before and that repair is still holding up on a machine. When I repair cast what I really prefer to do is clean it really good and use my old Magnaflux magnet and power to see if it is just broken there or if there is more of a fix. Weld prep along everything that you showed especially the heating, peening, and cooling are spot on. I learned on burned up cast exhaust manifolds from a old guy who started at Scottys Muffler in California then started his own muffler shop for 50 years. If he was still alive he would totally agree. with this fix. Thank you P.S. if you would could you please warn people about how sometimes you have to hot tank/deep clean and get any oils, lead, herbicides, pesticides, toxic chemicals etc out of cast iron because no matter how good the cast is its got pores that can hold dangerous surprises. Because if you don't you can get really sick from from the fumes and even make the people around you sick.

Thank you so much for this. I've never welded before and I checked out the best way for newbies to start. Resoundingly, the answer came back Flux Core/MIG welding. I've watched 6 or 7 vids online, saying they're for beginners, but then baffle us with terms and information only experienced welders would know!? This is the first and best vid I've watched where, not only does Brandon show us how to set the machine up, but also offers a few insider 'easy to understand' tips that will help us in future endeavours. I know someone is likely to say, "Well, it's not MIG welding, it's Flux Core welding!" Sure. OK. But have you ever tried Flux core Welding without using a MIG welder 🙄🤦🏻‍♂️. Brandon, thank you. You've made a difference in my pursuit of....joining one piece of metal to another! Cheers 😉👍🏻.

This was great to see, brazing is the one most common to me, along with nickel rods, or 309 stainless rod. Peining seems to be the best stress relief, but I see where people don't use that either. I like your presentation and thank you for something I wouldn't have tried.

I bought my 1993 f150 for $400 because the engine had a cracked block between to freeze plugs. I repaired it with a flux core wire cracker box welder. that was 3 years ago and she's still my daily driver with 379,392 miles on the same cracked engine. I used a benzo torch for the heating and a tiny air hammer to do the peening.

Your weld it was spot on the metal was weak have never seen a pork chop that big. your logical way of doing things makes it easier to understand , has helped me fix a broken cast iron band saw trunnion so it works for me many thanks.

I wouldn’t worry about the ones who are saying this is stupid this video actually helped me cause all I have is a flux core welder and I need to repair my cast vise this video showed me I can fix it and how to fix it

Thanks for the video. I am one of those guys that only has Flux Core wire welder. I am also new to welding, but I knew cast iron welding wasn't as simple as other things I have welded. My sister-in-law has a crack in her cast iron pan and this comes in real handy.

Love the vid! By no means am i a pro. Several years ago I had to do small hand rail welding project, little did I realize that 1 of the 2 parts was cast. At first it kept cracking my tacks, after it got warm enough it started to stick together. It took a while of weld a lil grind a lil, but it turned out looking decent and still holding to this day with my flux core machine. Nice to hear that some people still embrace alternative methods.

That works! I'm no pro welder and have a 110 flux lincoln welder and it does great! I've done car ports, deer stands, deer feeders, trailer supports etc. Strong and durable.

Great video. My Dad was a welder. But he only had the old school welding equipment. He could weld anything. He would have been excited to see all these videos.

this tutorial is freaking awsome, very practical, very informative! thanks a bunch

great job mate old school keep it up like you sead most of us only have basic gear

So many people think they know the best way to do anything most people really have no idea what's possible. I like that someone spends the time to show what can be done even if you don't all the right equipment. Nice thanks

I appreciate your approach, that not everyone has the same type of welder. And that you show it can be done with the less desired welder! You found yourself a new subscriber. Thanks for this demo. Gonna weld a woodstove with the removable top lids air tight. Well atleast try lol.

Thank you for the wonderful video. I am learning.

Good video. I’ve been welding cast iron skillets, cast iron vises, ductile iron vises, engine blocks, and other cast iron engine parts for two decades using fluxcore mig or 7018. Things like exhaust manifolds with dirty carbon exhaust needs more preheat to bake out the impurities. SS309 rod also works very well for cast repairs. It was designed to weld ss to mild steel and has a lot of chromium in it that is soft allows flex as the weld cools if post heat is not available. (Such as engine blocks in vehicles). Lastly, watch using plastic containers. I’ve melted a few. Lol

I enjoy your videos, "not long drawn out watch me hand sand this", to the point. I used to could certify but MANY years out I resort to your videos as a refresher course!! Thank-you!

Great video. New subscriber. You get to the issue without me having to watch cast cool in the sand for 24 hours. Great real life video. Thanks for your mind set.

Thanks a bunch. I've learned a thing or two from this video. I'm one of the guys that only has a flux-core mig welder... and no cutting torch either.

thumbs up for the kilos conversion!

I appreciate the video ,most people don’t understand that for decades Briggs and Stratton used a pot metal for their blocks, it wasn’t as strong as billet aluminum or cast-iron, but it worked for the purpose of making a lawnmower engine ,it’s the application is what’s important to understand I worked for a company that would make molds out of Kurt site and as long as you were making thousands of parts it was a great system but because the molds were for fiberglass parts body parts ,a fiberglass mold was cheaper especially for only a few hundred parts. so it is the application and what is the cost-effective method trying to make the strongest thing in the world is not necessarily what you need to do each time .getting that through the heads of some people is rather difficult so what works on each kind of repair I find very informative and appreciate what you’re doing ,the people that complain will complain no matter what because they can’t or don’t do these things themselves .and do not consider all of the factors involved so thank again for the video.

I fixed a cast iron stove top and was told the same way you did it.In the end I was happy with the final outcome.The process does not put the cast item back to new but it will give a few more years use from it

90 pounds isn't strong enough for the way I cook. I throw the whole damn cow in the skillet. Gotta do better, lol. I'm just kidding, thanks for taking the time to do this series. It truly does help us that don't know everything.

As a welder myself, I would've put the pan in the oven for even heating. Then after welding put back in oven to slowly cool.

I'm a welder, but never tried this, it does work, good job, GREAT VIDEO

Wow! I was always told you needed specialist equipment and rods and an oven to weld CI. I never even thought to just give it a go and see what happens... great work! I learned something good!

I gotta try this but I'm worried what's going to happen when my wife comes asking where the skillet is. Enjoyed your everyday yet intelligent approach.

this was helpful thanks. i have a fireplace grate to repair and now i know i can do it with 7018 or flux core....(dont have a tig)

I welded a cast-iron crank handle on a Chinese drill press that my dad broke when he tipped it over. I ground a groove on the broken parts, then decided to tack it together while waiting for my dad to braze it back together. Using my mig welder with ER70S-7 wire with 25-75 Argon gas, I used a lower than normal heat setting, and tacked it on both edges. It went so well, that I decided to make a core pass. That welded so nice, I decided to make another, then another, and another, and eventually filled it all the way with the welder. It welded amazingly well and so easily, that later I welded a HUGE crack (1/4"+) in a Ford 460 exhaust manifold for my neighbor that still wasn't leaking when he sold the truck 5-7 years later.

I think it's a awesome job in showing the people that are not aware of these people who need to be aware of welding thing's.Thanks for you doing it your way!

Thank you. I'm one of those guys that has only a wire feed welder. Nice to know that it can be done.

If the weld would hold a 40lb/18kg concrete block, that's strong enough for me in this application.

With light duty flux core wire/stick welders now priced very affordable for home owners, small projects, deco items, these demos are 'extremely valuable. Thank You Brandon ;]

good video just repaired one of the feet on a cast iron wood heater with flux core worked great still holding...thanks brandon

Just found, and definitely subscribed, to this channel! I definitely watch my fill of RU-vid and I do like your approach! Wasn’t too keen on destroying what you just fixed but I did learn from the result of you destroying the piece and I’d say that’s what your aiming for so job well done! Don’t worry so much about the keyboard know-it-all’s, it’s almost as annoying listening to a creator bitch about them as it is reading them myself. That’s my own opinion though. You do you no matter what.

Exhaust manifold waste gate outlet still holding ten years down the road

Been a welder for 42 yrs. But impressive. Ive done a lot of cast iron repairs. Your whole aproch is good with the preheating and cooling. And ni rod is the best. But i would have never have tried flux cor for that but it was fairly successful. I worked at NASA for 24 yrs as a welder. The milspec gov. Catalog listed 7018 as rod for welding cast iron. Never really tryed it but always found that description interesting

Dude don't listen to those people that know it all, this helped me with my exhaust leak, thanks keep on making videos

wonder how these repair's would react during seasoning

The moisture on the cast iron is coming from the blow torch which is a by product of combustion.

Awesome. Unlike some of the haters i can read the title description and love your common sense approach to using what you have on hand to get the job done. Keep up the great work on informing those that would learn.

I spent 20yrs as a coded welder using most weld systems Did a lot of pipelines with Lincon 211 flux core. This guy did a reasonably good job. Any comments about vertical up versus vertical down are probably from inexperienced guys. On a pipe line the procedure of choice is vertical up root run and vertical down for the fill and Cap. This video is very good.

Building ships where I work we weld cast deck sockets onto the helo deck with flux core. Holds fine

If you have only a Stick Welder use a Stainless Steel rod if you have no rods for cast iron. Or Braze it with Oxy Acetylene, if you have it. The Braze will well stand the heat of a cookstove. Brazed repaired exhaust manifolds stand up to the heat after all.

People on the internet will always get angry about something regardless, now as I understand when you weld any kind of metal the weld is stronger than the actual material and as far as the test goes weld seem to hold very well, good stuff sir.

I didn't see you while I was in welding school but I look at a lot of your videos now. I like how you teach.

Ping it a bunch while hot. Keep heat on it. Sometimes a pneumatic chisel or needle scaler works for pinging. Slowly cool it down. Use an oven if you need to, start at 500 degrees and start lowering it every 15 minutes by 20 degrees. This works with 7018. Pre heat and post heat is the most important, heat to about where a magnet dont want to stick.

I was taught to heat the cast iron red hot before welding it

I think flux core Mig was a great way to repair this little skillet! If anyone disagrees they are just being argumentative for no real real reason. Personally, I learned a lot watching this video, thank you for posting it!

Done this myself over twenty years ago and it is still holding up. Good video.

Unless you're cooking a manifold. I'd say the repair worked

Bonus: if you have a pan in your kitchen that you repaired when it broke, that's pretty cool..

I did something similar with a broken vise while working in a shop. Nickel rod and the sand seemed to be best. Welded a socket to the screw and rebroke with a torque wrench.Great video

Really, really good analytical approach; testing like this is exactly how industries like nuclear and aerospace developed their specs. Test, measure, and test again. Good work, sir!

braze it.? i never heard of a repair of cast with anything other then brazing. back in the day we braz cast iron massyfergesen frontend ( a 2 foot half bowl shape about 2+ inchs thick. )and it worked! A lot of stress on that piece holding front of tractor pounding down etc.never heard of a failure. Took long time to heat that piece 5 hours+, and 12 hours to cool it. also used bolts to hold the it together. removed them and filled that part of crack.

He blinded me with science.

dude.... its an awesome video. I have a flux core mig welder..... I have a us$200 cast iron pan.. I broke the handle off..my fave pan. I never thought I could weld it.. but.. watching your vid.. gonna give it a go.. nothing lost.. since its buggered now..

Glad to hear you empathize with the importance to weld and peen a little at a time, I always use wood ashes for cooling cast iron but understand not everyone has access to them. Well done, and Interesting experiment.

that big metal surface would have absolutely acted like a heat sink

water comes from the combustion of a hydrocarbon and oxygen in the air. The produced water condenses when the metal surface is still cold...

Good for you for goin outside the box a little. it doesn't matter what haters think / say. thanks for showing us people that don't know EVERYTHING how to get around other so called conventional ways of doing things. right on brother.

I'm really appreciating the cut of your jib. Glad I found the channel. Now I can fix the Missus bird bath.

Dang, I never found a 94 lbs steak to put on a cast iron skillet

Water is a by-product of the flame, then condenses on the cooler pan until the pan gets hot enough to vaporize the water. My 2 cents....

Strength-wise your use of the mig wire has to be considered a success. Many thanks and keep up with these very powerful videos!

Another member of the Lund tribe here. Well done. Yeah, you gotta use what's at hand ...

Lund sounds like a Swedish name.

It will hold anything you can fry or bake.

I'm more impressed that you replied to almost all the comments rather than the weld.

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I have a cracked cast piece on my drill press and I was wondering if my Flux welder could patch it up. It hasn’t broken all the way through yet so now is the time to run a bead.

I like your enthusiasm for this , keep it going . Don't worry about the keyboard warriors, see how many videos they have posted , bet it's none

I used to weld cast with a nickel rod.

Great content! Years ago I had an experience where I had to do a crack in an exhaust manifold I gouged with a grinder then I preheated it with a butane torch like yourself and actually use c25 o23 wire then I went back to the butane torch and kept it warm and it lasted forever

Very much appreciated. I'm like many others that have commented, in that I'm not formally trained, nor experienced, nor rich... but I do have a wire feed(also a stick but have got that down yet)...and a friend was using my vise and broke it. I've wanted to fix it but didn't have the equipment(nor skill set) to do it professionally, but now I think I'll give it a try. Keep up the good work. Also newly subscribed.🤙👍🤞