For Welding ; Mild Steel vs. Bright Steel

Down here in Ceylon I got security spikes/grill on wall.
Need to weld some 0.5 inch diameter steel rod to the spike assembly. Had a choice between Mild Steel ad Bright Steel. The difference between the 2 is as follows:

Mild steel would bend more before breaking than Bright Steel
Mild steel has a rougher surface than Bright steel which has a somewhat smooth polished surface
Mild steel not as strong as Bright steel

I choose 0.5 diameter Mild Steel for its rougher texture and ability to bend before breaking.
Did I made the right choice?

Project involves welding several 17.5 inch long 0.5 inch diamater rods (represened in red in below pic) to wall security spike assembly. 10 inches of the steel rod will be inserted into the wall from the top (i.e. vertically ) into holes drilled into the wall.

bright steel

Spud said:

Down here in Ceylon I got security spikes/grill on wall.
Need to weld some 0.5 inch diameter steel rod to the spike assembly. Had a choice between Mild Steel ad Bright Steel. The difference between the 2 is as follows:

Mild steel would bend more before breaking than Bright Steel
Mild steel has a rougher surface than Bright steel which has a somewhat smooth polished surface
Mild steel not as strong as Bright steel

I choose 0.5 diameter Mild Steel for its rougher texture and ability to bend before breaking.
Did I made the right choice?

Project involves welding several 17.5 inch long 0.5 inch diamater rods (represened in red in below pic) to wall security spike assembly. 10 inches of the steel rod will be inserted into the wall from the top (i.e. vertically ) into holes drilled into the wall.

Click to expand...

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Bright Steel in foreign countries could mean High Carbon Steel Ground Drill Rod which usually is not welded easily. Maybe you are talking about AISI 1018 cold rolled steel ?
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Some cold rolled steels are not recommended for welding as they might have high sulfur content to give a free machining spec. Usually 1018 can be welded but as it is higher in cost because the mill scale was removed and it is normally closer to a size spec than cheaper priced hot rolled steel most would use A36 hot rolled steel for welding which normally is around a 1018 chemical content. Mild Steel is a non precise term.
...... you have to be more precise in what metals you are talking about

I think you mean high carbon steel...

Use mild steel. Easy to weld, no hassles with hardening/brittleness and cheaper too!

DMF_TomB said:

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Bright Steel in foreign countries could mean High Carbide Steel Ground Drill Rod. Maybe you are talking about AISI 1018 cold rolled steel ?
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Some cold rolled steels are not recommended for welding as they might have high sulfur content to give a free machining spec. Usually 1018 can be welded but as it is higher in cost because the mill scale was removed and it is normally closer to a size spec than cheaper priced hot rolled steel most would use A36 hot rolled steel for welding which normally is around a 1018 chemical content. Mild Steel is a non precise term.
...... you have to be more precise in what metals you are talking about

Click to expand...

I wish I knew the specific alloy but over here the shops that sell metal stock don't have that kind of info . All they told me was Mild Steel , and it ould better over the more expensive Bright steel.

i would not buy metal without more information. high carbon steel drill rod sometimes called bright steel is usually not welded as the high carbon can cause welds to crack. drill rod is ground to size and used to make tools.
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i would not be welding anything unless i knew exactly what type of metal it is.

Spark test is elementary. Mild will have long straightish sparks with minor bursts at end. High carbon will be all bursts.

But who knows in the new and more imperfect world where literally anything can be sold.

A general dirt floor approach is to not weld on anything high carbon if the end result needs to hang together in a safe or useful way

More to the point at hand- I can't figure out why anyone would want to use a tool steel to make security gate spikes.

Perhaps if you were Vlad and needed the wear resistance...

I would have to guess that you're describing 1018 cold rolled (bright) steel to A36 hot rolled mild steel (rough)...though both are considered "mild steels". Sure, you made a fine choice and you should have no problems. Typically cold rolled steel will be harder to bend and would be more brittle than hot rolled steel...as well as the tool steels

1018 and A36 Mild steel is probably used in 99% of exterior ornamental and practical fencing work

Cold rolled 1018 and hot rolled pickled and oild are both bright steels with no surface scale like regular hot rolled mild carbon steel that will tig weld nicely. I'm pretty sure the increased prevalence of hot roll pickled and oiled steel is due to increased use of tig welding as a process

You'll be fine, especially if you are mig or stick welding welding. Just be sure to prime and paint the steel before you put it in the concrete

John Madarasz said:

You'll be fine, especially if you are mig or stick welding welding. Just be sure to prime and paint the steel before you put it in the concrete

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It would be Arc welding, which what they do there (in Ceylon).

I think John Madarasz is right on here ,In the UK most steel stockholders tend to just carry black or bright bars along with a range of rolled sections , the black bar (hot rolled)and rolled sections are mainly for welding and fabrication and is almost certainly the "mild steel" you are being offered ,the bright steel will be pretty much the same stuff (still mild steel ) but will have been cold drawn to improve surface finish and dimensions ,the drawing process also hardens the bar slightly hence it won't bend as easily, the mix of ingredients will also be to a closer spec.

Both materials will work fine for what you want but the black (mild steel) will be cheaper and prolly take paint better.

Stick welding will be fine.(Mig and Stick are both arc welding)

The more specialist materials mentioned by some above are not so likely and I am sure that if that was what was being offered they would say so ,just to confuse a bit more many of these special steels are available in bright or black.

Bright mild steels are improved steels, they are free of scale, and have been cold worked (drawn or rolled) to form. They are produced to quite close dimensional tolerances, and straightness and flatness are better than black steels.
this week I work with it..