Machinist

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Welding 1144 to 1018 steel ?
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/welding-1144-1018-steel-258523/

comments in this thread:

copy of an "internal" proceedure sheet from Cornell pump Co. on stubbing
 close coupled horizontal C faced motor shafts. I've been away from that
 line of work for about 13 years so memory may have fogged over some of 
the details but the proceedure was to cut off the bad end, thread both 
pieces 5/8" coarse, vee at 60 degrees to with-in 1/8" of the thread, 
preheat the whole thing to 500F, mig with er70-s, post heat 500F, shut 
oven off and let cool. Motor shafts were I assume mild steel by the way 
they machined, Cornell specifically said use 1144 for the stub. If any 
pump manufacturer has credibility in their engineering with me it is 
Cornell. I never had a failure with this method. Welds machined nicely 
with no hard spots. Always used 75/25 shielding gas.

The most significant reason that 11xx series steels are deemed not 
suitable for arc welding is because they contain large amounts (in the 
case of 1144 I would say enormous) of sulfur and phosphorus 
(machinability aids), which are extremely detrimental to weld quality.  
Solidification cracking, porosity formation, and lamellar tearing are 
all defects that are frequently encountered.

I think the 11XX & 12XX series steels contain to much sulfur to get a viable weld. Lots of cracking in the HAZ. Others may know better.

1144 has gobs of sulfur in it
			
		
	
.24 - .33%, compared to .05 max in 1018 - I.E., 11.4 times as 
much.  That is one good reason why it is easy to get high quality welds 
in 1018.

I will second the comment, its not good practice, but std welding wire or rods for mild steel will join it. There's something to possibly be said about keeping to - using the most ductile filler possible as this will help reduce shrinkage induced cracking. IMHO i don't like welding any of the free cutting steels, it kinda welds like a sugar cube held half in a cup of coffe, it just sort of slumps into the puddle. Strength can and is a issue in welding it but there plenty of real world parts welded and made from this steel, just don't try and weld it in a highly loaded zone + don't use it were performance or failure really matters - has consequences.

found on the Lincoln website their rod Murex 7016 low hydrogen , they 
say it is and I'm quoting "The best choice for hardenable steels and 
HIGH SULFUR steels, and free machining steels"