Welding Tips and Tricks

This is a handle for a lathe, unfortunately it's the worst possible weld, highly constrained.

Suggestions for repair/filler...nickel 99?

Silicon Bronze.

exnailpounder wrote:Silicon Bronze.

... and probably examine the handwheel remains very carefully for additional (hairline) cracks radiating out from the current fracture line. Would suck if it fell apart on you while working on it.

Bye, Arno.

AND we would like to see that repair when it's completed.

If lathe wasn't broke you could make a new improved stronger handle with the lathe for the lathe

dirtmidget33 wrote:If lathe wasn't broke you could make a new improved stronger handle with the lathe for the lathe

Shit....just clamp on a pair of vice-grips and have at it You can sand all the jaw marks out of the spindle later ( said as I farmer hankie on the shop floor)

you have to wonder why it broke??
maybe braze with OA..
craig

motox wrote:you have to wonder why it broke??
maybe braze with OA..
craig

I'm guessing it broke because something got banged into it. Something getting moved around in the shop, or it was broken while the lathe was being moved.

Larry

I would use stainless, I think silica bronze is going to be a bit too weak.

I did my drill press base with stainless, it gets banged around enough to prove a point, I would go with a 308 filler.

Solar flux the machined surfaces and preheat the whole to~ 500°F, then use high fluidity silver braze. Pack in rock wool to cool slowly.

Fuck it Richard....sand cast and pour a new one...I do it all the time And drug test your lathe operator for steroids!

Olivero wrote:I would use stainless, I think silica bronze is going to be a bit too weak.

I did my drill press base with stainless, it gets banged around enough to prove a point, I would go with a 308 filler.

SilBr is stronger than cast iron. I fixed a cast tooth on my lathe with it and it holds up fine. This is just the shipwheel for a cross slide or compound...not much abuse. SS might crack in the cool off...slow cooled or not.

ldbtx wrote:

motox wrote:you have to wonder why it broke??
maybe braze with OA..
craig

I'm guessing it broke because something got banged into it. Something getting moved around in the shop, or it was broken while the lathe was being moved.

Larry

Bingo!, while the lathe was being moved.

exnailpounder wrote:

dirtmidget33 wrote:If lathe wasn't broke you could make a new improved stronger handle with the lathe for the lathe

Shit....just clamp on a pair of vice-grips and have at it You can sand all the jaw marks out of the spindle later ( said as I farmer hankie on the shop floor)

Damn, wish I thought of that!! Jeff you have such an imagination... Must be the liquid vitamin drinks you put back
Bud wiser, right?

LtBadd wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:

dirtmidget33 wrote:If lathe wasn't broke you could make a new improved stronger handle with the lathe for the lathe

Shit....just clamp on a pair of vice-grips and have at it You can sand all the jaw marks out of the spindle later ( said as I farmer hankie on the shop floor)

Damn, wish I thought of that!! Jeff you have such an imagination... Must be the liquid vitamin drinks you put back
Bud wiser, right?

Miller lite

Yeah,

I'd go silicon bronze via TIG.

I mean, I've only used it once on a small repair of some ornate, vintage cast brackets. But the process went quick and easy, with no pre-heating and no risk of cracking the base metal that I could tell, since none was diluted. I used a typical flow rate of Argon, which resulted in a dull, dark color bead, rather than a shiny, gold colored one. I'd probably do only one side of that dial, but you could probably do both without any risk of cracking the base metal, since it's silicon bronze.

exnailpounder wrote:

Olivero wrote:I would use stainless, I think silica bronze is going to be a bit too weak.

I did my drill press base with stainless, it gets banged around enough to prove a point, I would go with a 308 filler.

SilBr is stronger than cast iron. I fixed a cast tooth on my lathe with it and it holds up fine. This is just the shipwheel for a cross slide or compound...not much abuse. SS might crack in the cool off...slow cooled or not.

Interesting, I guess it depends, I let my drill base cool in ambient air, didn't wrap it in anything just let it do its thing and it didn't crack.

Still holding.

Olivero wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:

Olivero wrote:I would use stainless, I think silica bronze is going to be a bit too weak.

I did my drill press base with stainless, it gets banged around enough to prove a point, I would go with a 308 filler.

SilBr is stronger than cast iron. I fixed a cast tooth on my lathe with it and it holds up fine. This is just the shipwheel for a cross slide or compound...not much abuse. SS might crack in the cool off...slow cooled or not.

Interesting, I guess it depends, I let my drill base cool in ambient air, didn't wrap it in anything just let it do its thing and it didn't crack.

Still holding.

Welding cast with SS is doable but welding cast and having the weld actually hold is a 50/50 shot. Since brazing isn't welding chances are better of a successful repair. Lots and lots of lathe parts/gears etc get repaired by brazing. My belt cover on my lathe was OA brazed by a serious brazing artist and I never worry about it cracking. It absolutely depends on the stress the part will get so sometimes welding may work but when you have a low stress part or even a high stress part brazing WILL work.

Cool, well. Good to know for future. I keep silica bronze on the shelf but barely ever use it.

Olivero wrote:Cool, well. Good to know for future. I keep silica bronze on the shelf but barely ever use it.

I think many of us have some but it's rare to use it probably because Tig can cure most things by simply welding but cast is a whole different animal. I usually turn cast parts away for welding but I will gladly braze them but offer no guaranty that it will hold. If you hit the other forums you will see tons of discussion about welding cast. Some guys claim total success but just as many others claim failure so 50/50 is about par for cast welding. Brazing usually always works. Heres a kicker...I brazed a fitting on a SS keg and spider cracked the shit out of the keg near the braze ...even old dogs have to learn the hard way sometimes. Metal is weird.

I bought a 12" bench grinder from HF and when I opened up the box the cast iron base.stand was busted with a loose piece in the box. I called the store and told them what I found and the guy said bring it back. I said its over 30 miles back to the store so check and see if you have another one and open the box to check it before I drive down. He checked and it too was broke. So I said I can fix this if you give me a huge discount and he said ok and knocked $20 off the price (or something that sounded good to me at the time). Then I asked if he would sell me the other broken one for the same discounted price and he said sure. I fixed the first one with GTAW using Super MissleWeld filler. Worked great and has been running fine for years. The other grinder is still in 2 pieces as a spare.

But otherwise I would just braze it with Oxy/Acet and flux coated brazing rod.

You were lucky...you can never be sure what is in Chinese "cast". Just like their food...unless you like dog and cat....or whatever the chef found laying on the side of the road on the way in to work that day

That is true. But a long time ago I learned about super missileweld and used it when I worked in the maintenance department and liked the way it welded and the slag practically removed itself. That was stick welding back in the day. So I found a deal on TIG filler one day and another welder I know said he would split 10lbs with me. SMW is supposed to be a great choice for dissimilar steels. Then I find out it is just a fancy name for 309 or 312 stainless. Even Jody says that on one of his tips and tricks videos.

"I worked a job once where simple carbon steel fixtures where fabricated daily. The welder would routinely tig weld them with super missile weld rod. ( a fancy marketing name for 309 or 312 stainless tig rod)"

So if I need any more I already have it.

http://www.stoodyind.com/Catalogs/FISC/ ... tpg394.pdf

edit: typo

I have used 309 quite a bit but never on cast. II normally won't do cast but some guys won't take no for an answer and insist so I give guaranty on cast...and I charge extra to do it.

I'll weld just about anything, take a lot for me to say no to weld something. It's hard to say no to a challenge and you never know when you need it.

But then again, we are all different, I wouldn't do a critical part and put it back in service without knowing it would be okay but for the odds and ends people bring me, why not?