Repairing cast iron casting.

[Herbiev]

I did consider many options but considered the welding option to be stronger than glue and pins considering the thickness of the iron. The bonus being as Simon mentioned, that I learned something and spent a couple of hours with a fellow member.

 

[goldstar31]

Respectfully, I did the 'arithmetic' on the Quorn way back in the Dark Ages after mine actually overturned.

In 'arse to the marste' naval stuff, it is all to do with meta centric height with a load of metal 'way up' and a motor - aloft. Same as on a Myford lathe- and one has to live with it.

I was looking at the competition- the forgotten Tinker and thought that I could make one out of purloined plastic trays from a certain hamburger outlet. Not quite so daft as the new A something Blunderbus is being made out of carbon fibre- and the tires on the last Dornier Do17 Flying Pencil were still inflated after 70+ years- in the North Sea.

Great idea - this natter thing. Must have one with me ole Goldstar engine basher 'cos the Do17 is going to Cosford where his pair of Gypsy Queen71 engined DH Devons are.

Fun innitt?

Norm

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Breaking News( pun intended) We had a bit of 'top hamper' with the million quid 'Gloriana' in the Thames. Happens to the best of people!

 

[bazmak]

Hi Herbiev of Hallet Cove.Reading this thread brought back memories
Having been a time served sheetmetalworker/welder i learned at that time
that were 2 main methods of successfully welding cast iron.Electric with cast iron electrode
and Bronze welding (brazing) But could Never be Guarenteed under heavy loads
50 yrs ago people were always wandering into the welding shop with a broken bench vice
and a request to have it welded.The formans answer was always the same.Cant be done throw it in the scrap bin
It would never be any good except for holding wood.One day an apprentice came with the usual request
and the foreman was out so i told him i would see to it,threw it under my bench and forgot about it
saying it couldent be done.A few weeks later i stripped it all down.It was almost new and a nice 3' model
I clamped the parts together and tack welded,drilled tapped and c/bored and fitted 2 M8 cap screws.
Took it apart V grount all around almost full depth and bolted back together.I then preheated and laid a no of weld runs
to ill out all the joint and left in the oven to cool down overnight.I then spent a number of days cleaning ,grinding refurb and painting
It was like new.I had many comment and envious glances from my workmates.I put the new vice in my haversack in my locker
ready for the 1st dark night (overtime no foreman) When i was readt to take it home to my little workshop
THERE IT WAS GONE. I never did find out which of my mates took it but i still believe its still out there working away
Still they did let me finish it first. All the best BARRY

 

[jwcnc1911]

This is curiosity based entirely on my own experiences... sorry I have no welding advice... I'd probably use Belzona!

Sounds like concerns for the quality of the casting to me. How far did you drop it? Was it really structurally weak in that area? Did it have excess porosity? I know I deal with much heavier castings but I can't see cast iron breaking just from dropping.

I would like to see pictures. I'm curious!

 

[Herbiev]

Hi Barry. He could have at least left a " thank you" note.
JW. #6 has a picture of the casting. This is part of the work head assembly with the motor mounted on it. The whole t&c grinder landed upside down on a concrete floor from about four feet.

 

[hi speed scrap]

Hi Herbie,

Good to see you had success with your repair, now all
you have to do is fix it to your bench,

JW, with you on the Belzona, I use it regularly, but in Herbie's
case probably a lot cheaper to weld it.

Dave

 

[jwcnc1911]

I don't know how I missed that picture...

That's smaller than I imagined, I guess you could always make a replacement out of bar stock if you wanted to but then that beats the point of buying the castings.

 

[goldstar31]

I don't know how I missed that picture...

That's smaller than I imagined, I guess you could always make a replacement out of bar stock if you wanted to but then that beats the point of buying the castings.

Actually the whole lot can be made out of bar stock. The drawings and construction notes for Mr Willis's Bonelle are on the net.

A worthy contender- and cheaper now.

 

[rjd048]

Here is one for you to ponder on too, had a tractor piece which was cast and had broken, tried the heat and weld process and it kept cracking the more I tried to repair it. At this point I was about to give up on it and buy a new piece. A friend of mine stopped by and saw what I was working on and said , got a mig welder with gas , said yes. He ground "V's" in the crackes and proceded to mig eld it and no cracks after it cooled in ambient air temp. Will admit that the areas he welded were so hard couldn't drill holes in it as it destroyed drill bits. Had to use grinder to get build up weld out of fitting area. Still holding up and that has been 2 yrs ago. He says he repairs engine blocks the same way as he owns a automotive engine shop and has repaired many race blocks that hea d rods hanging out of the side of the block.