I have 2 fireplace andirons (19th century) with cast iron legs – they need to be shortened by cutting the cast iron (about 1″ square section) and grinding a flat in one area.
Is this possible? I thought that cast iron was pretty tough to work
TIA
Jeff
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Replies
i like using a 4.5" grinder with a cut off wheel,makes a lot of sparks/mess but cots it pretty well. you can use a reicp. saw with a abrasive type blade also. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
If these andirons are antique and have a fairly high value I wouldnt cut them down, find some that will fit your needs. You'll take a lot of value away from them by cutting/shortening them.
If you plain dont care then you can cut castiron, not the most difficult thing in the world to cut.
Doug
That's a good point - they are antique but not *valuable* per se.
Jeff
Jeff
If the value isnt going change all that much then I guess you could cut them down.
I've cut cast with a jig saw, sawzall, right angle grinder. Of course the blade choice is paramount!
If the heigt being taken off is minimal then I might just grind it down.
A metel cutting blade in a jig saw will probably do what you need to do. You can get a lot of blades that are metal cutting so you'll have to experiment some.
Doug
Part of it is drilled and tapped too - which makes me wonder if it is cast iron or maybe mild steel instead. I can probably skip the drill and tap and put a brass nut on the threaded portion of the front (brass/bronze) decorative assembly.
Jeff
Jeff
A lot of the old andirons are forged metal to and if it is that then you can cut it real easy.
Doug
Cast iron isn't a mystical metal. A car's engine block is usually aluminum now but were cast iron with few exceptions (I don't want to hear from the European car droids). If you have a table saw, it's probably cast iron. Use a hacksaw and if you need to drill and tap it, use the same tools as you would with steel. It's no big deal.
The type of cast iron used in those days was 'chilled' When molten, it was poured into a cold steel mold which produced a smooth finish requiring no further polishing.
Since it was cast that way, it became 'Case hardened' also sand or grit rose to the top
It will dull ordinary hacksaw blades at first, but. once into the 'meat' it is easy to cut don't use oil or cutting fluids. Steinmetz.
It may dull ordinary blades but bi-metal should OK, I would think.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Cast iron is easy, tho' kind of dirty to work. (Full of black carbon)
Grinder cuts it quickly. The best way if sparks aren't an issue.
Saw cutting can be painfully slow due to harder inclusions that dull the blade.
Drills and taps easily, too.
good luck
Alan
Thanks to all - you guys are great!
Jeff