What to do...

Darren Wright

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I've been wanting a die filing machine for one of my other hobbies for a while now. I came across a smallish one on an online auction and purchased it. The seller did crate the machine, but failed to add adequate bracing and packing to keep the parts from beating up one another on the Fedex journey. The package did look ok, so accepted it, but upon inspection, the base corner, which also has one of the table supports attached, was snapped off. In retrospect, I kind of regret not contacting them to ask them to leave the machine assembled and bolt to a pallet for freight shipping, but it did mention they were experienced in shipping large items and would pack accordingly.
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I contacted the seller and was given an apology and full refund, but no instructions to return it.

So, I guess could add it to the trailer of metal going to the scrap yard...or...since I have a TIG welder, I thought I might try repairing it. Based on many reviews I ordered some of the EZ Weld Tig Wire. Almost all reviews said it works well and no pre-heating is required, so why not.

Looking over the rest of the machine, the bearings could use some lube. The motor ran fine, but also could use a few drops of oil, but no vibration or clanking, just a little run-out on the shaft end to end.
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The part that has the file holder looks to have been welded before as well, which was mentioned on the listing. I'll have to remove a little paint to see if it's brazing.
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My #2 son and I have a welding/metal shop, but I can't use it any more since I now run on batteries (pacemaker).

Cast iron welding is NOT for those with little or no experience in doing it. If not done properly it will shatter as it cools or it may break again easily later. Your best bet would be to braze it if you want to keep it. There is a high nickel content stick welding rod (about $3 each) that can be used relatively safely on cast iron, but the thermal shock of welding may produce more cracks if not pre-heated and cooled slowly and properly. The process, regardless of choice, is not for someone who has never done it before. Brazing can be done with little experience, if you slowly pre-heat and then cool it slowly after the brazing (bury in sand). The brazing process can be performed at a much lower temperature, so there's less chance of new cracking.

Charley
 
My #2 son and I have a welding/metal shop, but I can't use it any more since I now run on batteries (pacemaker).

Cast iron welding is NOT for those with little or no experience in doing it. If not done properly it will shatter as it cools or it may break again easily later. Your best bet would be to braze it if you want to keep it. There is a high nickel content stick welding rod (about $3 each) that can be used relatively safely on cast iron, but the thermal shock of welding may produce more cracks if not pre-heated and cooled slowly and properly. The process, regardless of choice, is not for someone who has never done it before. Brazing can be done with little experience, if you slowly pre-heat and then cool it slowly after the brazing (bury in sand). The brazing process can be performed at a much lower temperature, so there's less chance of new cracking.

Charley
Can I recommend taking it to a professional welding shop. In my time in manufacturing I have seen brazed repairs like that lots of times in functioning machines.
I do appreciate the advice. I don't plan to jump right to this project as I have a few other cast pieces to practice with. I know it's less than a 50/50 chance of it welding, even by a seasoned welder.

@Charles Lent Have you or your son tried any TIG welding on cast? or used the EZ Weld Wire (https://ezweldtigwire.com/products/) or nickel filler with tig for doing it?
 
I did do a bit of cast iron repair with my TIG welder, but my success rate wasn't very good. When using the high nickel rods and DC welder my success rate was in the 90's %, but careful even pre-heating and then slow cooling in a sand pile is likely why the success rate was so high. With brazing, the temperatures needed aren't high enough to cause problems, so it becomes a high temperature soldering project, but with brass as the solder.

Charley
 
I'm only basing this on YouTube knowledge, but it seems one common thread among successful cast iron welding jobs is not only pre-heating the metal, but peening the joint after welding it. I've also seen the cool-down stage done by wrapping the project in welding blankets to slow things down.

The cast iron bracket that holds the fence on my Grizzly jointer was broken by the moving company when we moved to Albuquerque. I'd like to find a local shop to weld it, but I need the jointer so seldom that it hasn't yet been worth the effort.
 
Yes, peening the weld surface helps to break the surface tension created as the dis-similar metals change temperature (cool). Welding blankets do work, but burying in dry sand has been what we found to work better. Leave it in there for a few hours and it will be happy,

Charley
 
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