Welding intake and exhaust valves

[Scratch]

No, this is not a trail repair... I'm making a custom coat rack for my father in laws birthday and I want to use valves for the actual coat hook. I'll weld them to a metal base. I'd like to keep them polished since they look cooler and the paint will eventually wear off anyways, but my question is will they rust?

I figured if they were not magnetic, they are probably mostly SS and I don't have to worry about rust, but if they are magnetic, it's probably a mixture of metals. The problem is, the head of the valve is non magnetic, but the back end of the shaft is very magnetic. This pen shows the point where the magnetism stops. Above the pen is magnetic, below the pen is not.

I guess I could just polish them up and clearcoat them, but if they won't rust, I'd rather just do that.

Any input?

[GWIZ]

Be careful some are filled with liquid, and may explode when heated.

[milomilo]

Which end are you welding?

[Scratch]

I'll be cutting them down to about 2" long including the head, so I'll be welding them right at about where the pen is.

[Whitetrash]

That's what I was thinking Sodium filled exhaust valves.

[Ironman]

If you cut them with a hacksaw you should be OK. AFAIK, the sodium is in the stem

[USMCPOP]

Cutting sodium filled valves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfdWCHlNeSs

Valve steels 101:

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/200...r-hot-engines/

[Scratch]

I’ve already cut these and welded them. These are solid. Good to know that some are sodium filled though…