Wow! That really stinks...
My first guess is that this is beyond a simple weld repair.
However, there is more than one way to skin a cat .
Can you supply or email some pictures of the bed, or give some detailed descriptions of how the bed is configured including how the crack is orientated in the bed?
With enough info we just might figure something out.
My first thought however is "Insurance?".
Tim
Some braze metals have tensile strengths compareable to the base metal. I'd look into this option as you'll need a coke furnace big enough to place the equipment to weld it with a cast iron rod and even then, you may not be successful.
Hmmm.. items like this tend to be made from the lowest grade cast iron as well. Any form of fusion welding will create hard and brittle heat affected zones which will be susceptible to failure in the future.
Typically items like this that have cracked can be repaired using metal stitching or metalocking - a couple of sample pages from the web:
http://cathgrou01.uuhost.uk.uu.net/casting-repairs/examples.htm
http://www.metalocking.com/services.php
have a look for local companies who can offer this service.
Good luck!
Hi All!
Metal Stitching is the answer here! Been there, done it, got the T-shirt!
Get a good, professional outfit to do the work and no problem!
Regards
I would call and talk with Michael Kiichle, with Messer, MG Welding Products before attempting a repair, or if your repair has failed. He is very knowledgeable in this field. Try him at 520-490-4895.
If he is not available, try the tech service people at 1-800-558-8524. MG has some outstanding cast iron welding techniques and material.
I have repaired Cast Iron before and the best way I have found to do so is drill a hole at each end of the crack before welding or you will be chasing the cracks and cool very slowly!!!
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The "story" of the Cast Iron Problem Solver is named NiFe type electrodes.
Try to find a bimetallic type and weld the first passes with the electrode to negative pole and the final passes you could use positive for fast deposition.
Hammer each time the deposit.
But sometimes, the word not possible makes sense also in cast iron.
BEst Regards:
Nuno Borges
There is a cold cast iron repair process called Metalstitch. This is a mechanical repair where high strength nickel alloy stitches are installed into drilled / machined appentures in the part.
see: http://www.fieldmachining.com/machining/metalstitch.html
for more info.
We have repaired similar machine bases in the past and consider it a permanent repair.
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