Welding Plow Steel

[CaddmannQ]

Is this stuff a trick to weld?

A friend brought me a piece of 2 inch water pipe and a disc from a disc harrow, and he wants me to weld them together. Coaxial like, to make a small grinder stand.

Anyhow I have welded lots of water pipe and it’s easy-peezy, but I have never tried to weld a disc harrow, and I’m sure it’s made of some kind of tough wearing plow steel.

I thought I might actually build a charcoal fire on the barbecue and preheat this disk a lot, because this disc will shed heat fast when I start welding on it. Also I’m thinking it will want to cool slowly.

I’m afraid if I don’t preheat it that this disc is going to develop strange stresses as it cools.

But I have some 6013 welding rod and I was just going to Arc this with a 3/16 bead all the way around. Then it will get three braces made from rebar.

[OZWELDER]

Hi CaddmannQ,
I have welded one of those plough discs.I was given a pair of them,with a damaged center hole and made a shallow BBQ dish out of it. Top dish food,bottom dish fire.
The damaged area was cut out and a small disc of mild steel welded in with LH sticks 7016 if I remember right.
Never had a moments trouble with it .It was used for many years until we got all fancy and got a gas BBQ.

Cheers
Ozwelder

[dubby]

Just scrape the end of the pipe until it's shiny, and brush the dirt off the disc.

Filling in the hole is a bit trickier as you do get some cracks sometimes as it cools. But just fitting it for a pipe/stand won't give you the same issue.

[USMCPOP]

Pre- and post-heat wouldn't hurt to avoid cracking and hardening in the HAZ area. They are hardened. Last I looked they were on the order of 1070 to 1080 steel.

From Agri Supply an there imported discs: Indian disc blades are 1070 Steel, 38-42 HRC. Brazilian disc blades are 1080 Steel 38-42 HRC, China disc blades are 65MN. 38-42 HRC.

[Shade Tree Welder]

Originally Posted by USMCPOP

Pre- and post-heat wouldn't hurt to avoid cracking and hardening in the HAZ area. They are hardened. Last I looked they were on the order of 1070 to 1080 steel.

From Agri Supply an there imported discs: Indian disc blades are 1070 Steel, 38-42 HRC. Brazilian disc blades are 1080 Steel 38-42 HRC, China disc blades are 65MN. 38-42 HRC.

Yeah, depends on the parent metal. It can be all over the place for discs.

Preheat, weld, post heat is optional as far as a grinder stand goes, it you get
a few small cracks the stand will not fail, so who cares the paint and rust will
fill in the cracks.

[CaddmannQ]

Thanks for the help guys. I just didn’t want to weld this thing all the way around and then two minutes later hear it go sproing! and split apart or something.

I have no idea where this disc came from but I do know it was the ash pan in his smoker barrel for about 20 years, and before that it came from a local California farm.

There was enough rust that, if there were ever any markings on it, there are none now.