Old steel: from gates to horses.

[Debs.]

I inherited some old, welded 'angle-iron' field gates when I moved into this property; they weren`t particularly well hung, so I replaced them with some lighter, tubular versions.

Since then, the old gates have been unused and unloved.....until yesterday, when I cut them up to salvage most of the the angle-lengths to make some metal 'horses' (the workshop support not the equine sort!).

I`m impressed by the condition, gauge and quality of the old steel in these 50+ year-old gates....aside from a little surface pitting in some corner areas, the metal is of surprisingly good quality and cleans-up, cuts and welds really nicely.

Some of the gate angle lengths show signs of a long-lost, single, thin coating of black paint....but, I`d say they have been only wearing a thin, surface coat of rust for the past 40 years of mountainside climate exposure.

`Got me thinking; generally, are modern steels likely to be of equally good quality?......would modern steels survive 40 years, unprotected from the elements?
.....my new-replacement galv. tubular gates are already showing rust staining at some welds.

My first iron-horsey

 

[chunkolini]

First up, are the horses well hung?

Next might the old angle iron be iron? from my frazzled memory I can recall that real iron as opposed to steel is far more corrosion resistant.

Chunko'.

 

[rtbcomp]

I'm sure the quality of steel has depreciated over the years as the precentage of scrap increases in the mix.

 

[Debs.]

First up, are the horses well hung?

Next might the old angle iron be iron? from my frazzled memory I can recall that real iron as opposed to steel is far more corrosion resistant.

Chunko'.

Like a stallion!


It surely behaves like steel.....would 'iron' angle-iron make such a tidy welds?

 

[TechnicAl]

I'm sure the quality of steel has depreciated over the years as the precentage of scrap increases in the mix.

Usually the opposite is true. There is much more steelmade without scrap than with remelted steel. The last figures I saw for the UK was 10 million tonnes of raw steel + 3 million remelted.

The steel now is far better than it was (unless its of dubious origin) in terms of strength, ductility and weldability. Corrosion isnt really a consideration, if you want corrosion resistance go for Corten.

Maybe the old angle iron in question isnt simple mild steel. Like chunko says Iron or Wrought Iron to be pedantic has good corrosion resistance. It could also have some Cr in it or whatever.

Another consideration is the atmosphere. Its salt on the road that causes cars to corrode. Where you are may make a difference and where the steel has been sat.

 

[Bigjoe]

What makes Corten more corrosion resistant than normal M/S Technical Al?

And i wondered how long the well hung comment wopuld take Chunko

 

[TechnicAl]

What makes Corten more corrosion resistant than normal M/S Technical Al?

It has a small amount of Copper, Nickel and Chromium

 

[Bigjoe]

Ah, that explains why ive seen many containers on the motorway saying if it needs to be repaired then use only Corten.

Joe

 

[piman]

Hello Debs,

"my new-replacement galv. tubular gates are already showing rust staining at some welds."

It doesn't seem if the galvanizing was a good job. as it shouldn't rust, if done properly.

Alec

 

[pidgeon chit welder]

Like a stallion!



It surely behaves like steel.....would 'iron' angle-iron make such a tidy welds?

Senior moments permitting ..I recall ( even if not correctly ).

When grinding it take a look at the crud being ground off , you will have some nice red/oraage blobs and a few star shaped orangish sparks if it is a reasonable mild steel .

With mild steel there are various carbon contents in the range that can be called mild steel ( I have amnesia on those numbers today ) but as the carbon content increases so will the number and quality of the sparks )

Proper wrought iron angle will be different so will malleable cast iron ... (amnesia and senoir moments also apply here ).

Malleable cast iron used to be used quite a lot in angle and channel form ,you see it drilling out as small oily filings not swarf and it grinds off as fine small red blobs and it is very very weather resistant due to the high carbon & graphite content and you can stick weld or braqze it with ease .

It has a good resonance ..much higher than a similar piece of steel