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Is Cast Iron Magnetic?

Is Cast Iron Magnetic?

By Facts & Guides

To understand magnetism, it’s important to understand the structure of a material. All substances are composed of atoms, each with a nucleus at its core. Orbiting around the nucleus are electrons, which carry an electric charge. In certain materials, electrons spin in various directions, resulting in a balanced atom with minimal magnetism. Examples of these materials include paper and cloth.

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January 30, 2024
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Harriet Worth UK Cast Iron Welders Careers

Meet our Level 3 Welding apprentice Harriet Worth

By Industry
Harriet Worth UK Cast Iron Welders Careers

We are happy to introduce our Level 3 welding apprentice, Harriet Worth.

Harriet forged her passion for metal fabrication during lockdown at home with her dad, and from there decided to join a weekend course in MIG and TIG confirming her desire to pursue a career in the field.

Harriet has since completed her level 2 in Welding and Fabrication at Burton and South Derbyshire College. During her studies, Harriet joined us at Cast Iron Welding Services in part-time employment, to get some hands-on experience.

We were so impressed with Harriet that we offered her a level 3 apprenticeship on completion of her course.

Harriet is thriving with us here and has expressed her love for working as a welder, working on different types of welds and materials. She also voiced her desire to work with classic and historic racing cars in the future, which as leaders in cast iron engine repairs is something we are very used to seeing here at Cast Iron Welding Services.

Encouraging women into welding

Harriet wants to encourage more young women to consider the profession as their own career choice, assuring women that they will feel welcomed and supported in this line of work. This type of career path is becoming more popular for women, and it is expected that by 2030 30% of core STEM roles, in general, will be occupied by women.

Our Managing Director Peter Palmer has fond memories of completing his apprenticeship back in the 90s and expressed the benefits of working alongside colleagues in the same field to gain vital knowledge and skills.
Our employees are passionate and keen to share their knowledge with our apprentices. Harriet spoke about how she is surrounded by supportive people who want to see her succeed. It’s great to see the drive and motivation that comes from hands-on experience and we are sure Harriet is going to go far with her career in welding.

We are so proud of Harriet we saved her special feature in a local newspaper:

November 16, 2022
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SMM Hamburg Maritime Event Cast Iron Welding Services

SMM Hamburg 2022 Maritime Event

By Marine
Cast Iron Welding Services at SMM Hamburg 2022 maritime event

🚢👬 👭 Successful visit to SMM Hamburg for the Cast Iron Welding Services team with lots of new business. We were extremely happy with the build and design of the stand at this year’s SMM Hamburg show. It’s been 4 long years since we were last in Hamburg, and it was great to see so many old faces but also some new ones. There is nothing better than meeting people face to face.

Busy exhibition maritime event

😓🙏🏻Overcoming issues with transport logistics. We were a little nervous about managing to get everything to the show in time as this was also not only the first major European exhibition Cast Iron Welding Services took part in after COVID but also logistically after Brexit. We were able to use the authorised logistics company for the show to transport our main exhibits but unfortunately, they could not help with the British ale Cast Iron Welding Services has for the last few years taken for visitors to sample, which I am sure you can imagine is always very well received.

Setting up a maritime exhibition stand for cylinder head refurbishment projects

✔️🍻Our exhibition guests were some of the happiest in Hamburg. We finally found a logistics company Eurosprint who handled the delivery of our British ale for us and also a number of other people who helped along the way we managed to once again offer our visitors a pint of fine British ale

😊 🍺 💯💪There are few occasions where we will accept defeat but this one could have been one of those occasions, but with the perseverance and determination of our amazing team and everyone involved we adapt throughout our business. The ale was flowing! Thank you to all involved.

Sales Manager at Cast Iron Welding Services serving British Ale at SMM Hamburg

Marie Palmer‘s Video Transcript as part of the Directors Diaries:

“Hi everyone, I wanted to give you an update on what we’ve been up to in the last few weeks. So the last time I posted I talked about the SMM Hamburg maritime event and the preparations for our exhibition.  So I was in the process of making sure the stand build and all the exhibition pieces had arrived on time. I can safely say everything turned out really well, I was very happy with the stand design and also the British ale managed to get there ok. I’m sure a lot of people that visited our stand enjoyed that just as much as our Cast Iron Welding services team did. It was great we had people from our Mexico facility which was great for them to catch up with lots of existing customers, suppliers and friends. We made lots of new friends and contacts too. It was a really good week with lots of positive opportunities made even more special as we’d not been there for 4 years due to COVID.  It was great just to see everybody back to where they should be. We look forward to seeing what the next few weeks bring”

October 7, 2022
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Cast Iron Welding Services go Digital

Digitalisation Improvements to Efficiencies

By Industry
Cast Iron Welding goes Digital with a full transformation

💻 ⌨✔The first stage of our digitalisation improvement journey is complete.  Our intern Clifford has successfully completed his internship with us and has met the objectives of the project.  We are incredibly impressed with how quickly Clifford became part of the team and how quickly he understood the project requirements and the progress he made.

📉 📑💻Systems are more efficient. We have no doubt that once the changes are made and the new processes implemented they will make a significant improvement to our current systems to include efficiency in obtaining and collating data and in also streamlining the communication process. We look forward to seeing the results.  Based on the tests we have carried out so far we are already seeing positives.

💡Connecting with WMG Innovation Unit has been such a valuable experience and we look forward to future opportunities.

😊⭐️We hope the internship has been just as beneficial for Clifford as it has been for Cast Iron Welding Services its so encouraging to see new talent developing and to have the opportunity to work with them.

The Welding Industry goes Digital

Marie Palmer‘s Video Transcript as part of the Directors Diaries:

“Hi everyone, I wanted to talk about our intern project we’ve had running which is part of our digitalisation improvements. So I’m pleased to say that Clifford has managed to complete all the tasks that we set within the project hitting all objectives. He’s worked really hard and it will make a big difference once we’ve implemented the recommendations in the welding workshop. Certain data collection we do is being streamlined and made more efficient, this will also improve the integrations with the existing systems we have.

We wish Clifford all the best with the future and look forward to making our business more efficient. Thanks”

April 22, 2022
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Drop Forge Flywheel Repair

Drop Forge Flywheel Repair

By Heritage
Drop Hammer Gantry Flywheels for Repair

Fig 1. Drop Hammer Gantry (inverted) showing X2No. Flywheels in need of repair (#1 & #2)

Drop Forge Flywheel Repair

As part of the Black Country Living Museum’s (BCLM) ambitious Forging Ahead development project an Industrial Quarter will be created to reflect the region’s rich heritage in manufacturing.

A key part of this will be the recreation of Smith Edge Tools – a Drop Forge from Roway Lane, Oldbury which was most famous for manufacturing hammers up to 28lb.

BCLM collected the Drop Forge equipment from the site when it closed in the early 2000s including the gantry and motorised mechanism, stantions, anvil bases and tups (hammers) with the aspiration that these could be installed in a working forge at the museum.

The equipment has since been stored in an external compound awaiting restoration.

Forging Ahead has created the opportunity to repurpose the equipment which has recently been recovered from the compound and reviewed to understand what repair work is necessary.

It is apparent that X2No. Flywheels on the main drive shaft are in need of repair – being cracked and in some cases missing sections of the outer rim.

The flywheels are comprised of two semi-circular sections bolted together over the main shaft.

BCLM are seeking to have the flywheels repaired in readiness for the installation of the equipment in the recreated Smith Edge Tools.

Drop Hammer Restoration
Flywheel 1 - 2 section flywheel annotation.png

Fig 2. Flywheel #1
2 section flywheel (bolted together)
< 104cm diameter >
Width (total): 14.5cm approx.
Inner rim: 12cm approx.
Rim: 1cm approx. Drive shaft measures
32cm circumference (approx.)

Flywheel damage repair

Fig 2a. Flywheel #1
DETAIL of damage

Flywheel cracked damage

Fig 2b. Flywheel #1
DETAIL of damage

Flywheel 2 - 2 section flywheel annotation

Fig 3. Flywheel #2
2 section flywheel (bolted together)
< 104cm diameter >
Width (total): 11.7cm approx.
Inner rim: 8.6cm approx.
Rim: 1.4cm approx.
Drive shaft measures 28cm circumference (approx.)

Flywheel damage

Fig 3a. Flywheel #2
DETAIL of damage

Flywheel detail of damage

Fig 3b. Flywheel #2
DETAIL of damage

New Flywheel 2 section repaired
New Flywheel 2 sections repaired
February 16, 2022
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Victorian cast iron railing restoration

Restoring Victorian Cast Iron Railings

By Heritage
Victorian cast iron railing restoration

At Cast Iron Welding Services, we recently performed expert restoration on a Victorian-era handrail in Lancashire. The old Victorian handrail was located at the top of a stone canal bridge and, as well as the wear and tear making the handrail an eyesore, it was posing a health risk to members of the public enjoying the canal path.

These Victorian rails have been a part of the aesthetic of the area for over 100 years and, as a result, are an important part of the heritage of Lancashire. At Cast Iron Welding Services, we take heritage seriously. We were founded in 1947, so all of our expert welding team know a thing or two about the importance of history.

The only problem with history is that it is prone to wearing, rusting and fading away. At Cast Iron Welding Services, we have the expertise and passion for ensuring that stunning pieces of cast iron history last long into the future. Our heritage restoration services have ensured that many historic landmarks maintain their unique beauty and sense of grandeur.

Victorian cast iron railing ciws
Victorian cast iron railing repairs
Victorian cast iron railing bridge repairs

Our cast iron restoration process

We have developed our gas fusion welding process over many years of dedication. Because of that, we were confident that we could get this Victorian handrail back to its very best. When we arrived on site, the handrail looked rusted and damaged and was barely recognisable as the striking cast iron structure that it once was.

The handrail was completely broken away from the stone wall that supports it. Many of the cast iron support pillars were also broken. With this area being incredibly beautiful and appealing to walkers, joggers and cyclists, safety was just as important as appearance with this restoration job.

We took great care to work this piece of historic metal free so that no further damage was done. Once we had completely removed all the remaining rails from the stonework and gathered all the broken pieces from the footpath below, we brought them back to Coalville for the restoration work to start.

Victorian cast iron railings
Victorian cast iron railings restoration

Our expert team of engineers then painstakingly restored the damaged and rusted cast iron handrail back to its former glory. Seeing the beauty of the past emerge from the rusted wreckage of the present is always a satisfying experience. And this was no different, with sturdy and historic Victorian cast iron soon emerging from beneath the rust.

Once completely restored, we painted the iron with care and dedication. With the handrail finally looking at its best, we installed it back in its home for yet another happy client. We’re always incredibly proud of our work, but when it comes to restoring a piece of history back to its former glory, we could not be happier.

Victorian cast iron railing bridge restoration
Victorian cast iron railing

Expert cast iron repair services

So much history and heritage have been crafted from cast iron. So, at Cast Iron Welding Services, we have made it our mission to ensure this history is with us for many years to come. Throughout history cast iron has been used to create stunning ornamental pieces as well as robust structures.

Unfortunately, as these cast iron creations have been battered by time and the elements, many have worn away and become a shadow of their former selves. The same can be said for classic car parts and other vintage products made of cast iron. Our team of expert engineers has honed the process of keeping history alive to a fine art. With restorations of vintage cars, historic structures and more, we are a one-stop shop for cast iron restoration.

Over the years we’ve developed a reputation for only the best restoration work. So much so that we were recently seen on TV helping Richard Hammond restore a classic car for his new show. We have also worked with the National Trust and other organisations dedicated to keeping historic landscapes looking at their inspirational best.

If you have a vintage car or piece of classic cast iron that needs professional restoration, contact Cast Iron Welding Services today. Our dedicated team will be able to offer expert advice and quotes for any type of cast iron restoration and repair. For more information on how Cast Iron Welding Services can help you, request a brochure.

February 7, 2022
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