Sand casting parts

Don Rudolph

Well-known Member
Our antique tractor club has a stone crusher with a broken axle assembly part. We don't think it can be welded. Does anyone know of a reasonable, competent, parts casting foundry? Or if not a way to weld an old, rusty cast part. Thanks, Don
 
Cattail foundry in PA if part is small enough to mail or ship

Cando foundry in Illinois if large and or heavy

There is a foundry in Wisconsin however they only cast in bronze if you can change materials

Braze or use cast iron rod if you think it can be repaired, some have been successful using 7018 electrodes however I have never tried it if most of the pieces are their and there is not a lot of build up needed for wear areas I would suggest trying cast iron rod that is all I use to repair cast on steam engine parts
 
There is one in about 6 miles from me. They have done work for me and said they will do stuff like you are talking about. Email me.
Richard in NW SC
 
Glenn,

What is the procedure you use for welding old cast? Do you preheat with a torch and then post heat with a torch? An old metal worker I knew used to heat cast parts on an old woodstove for 1/2 hour, weld and then put back on the stove for another 15 minutes. Does that make sense to you? Don
 
Yes sandblast near white, fit up parts and grind back as necessary, set up jig if need to hold parts, preheat, weld , post heat and cover in lime or sand if capable if part is too large I cover in brick tunnel with cover with the objective of slowly cooling part down
 
I have welded cast with 6011 rod and then peen it with chipping hammer as soon as the arc stops. Keep tapping with the chip hammer until it cools. The peening disorients the molecules and stress relieves it while cooling.

I have about 80% success with this method.
 
Most old cast can be welded, usually easier than new stuff. Post a pic of it. I've done a few jobs for deals like this, usually all I charge if it's for a club is shipping.
 
Is the casting made of steel or cast iron or ductile iron? Do you intend to operate the crusher and thus probably put shock loads on the casting? Did the break start with a crack that propagated and weakened the casting to where it suddenly broke into? Would you describe the casting as being heavily loaded for its size.

A picture of the casting and a close up of the fracture would be helpful to evaluate the possibility of repairing the casting.
 
Dakota Foundry in Webster SD does nice work reasonably. They made many parts for my GC Crawler. They are the guys building the 150 Case Engine. I have their contact info somewhere if you need it. Price is by the weight.
 
Here are a few pictures of our club's stone crusher and it's broken axle hub. The broken part of the hub looks to be between 1/2-5/8ths" thick. The wheels are from Electric Wheel Company in Quincy, IL. Thanks for all advice! Don
a192402.jpg

a192403.jpg
 
Take it apart so you can get a better look at it, but I see no reason why that can't be fixed. That is the transport wheel axle correct? Worst case it doesn't work and you still have a broken part.
 


Don,

If it is cast iron and not cast steel ,it will need to be

done in an oven for preheat ,welding,post heat and cooling. I

would volunteer to do it but ticker is not up to doing it .

There are several shops in the US that can do it, one is

Diesel cast welding in Minn ,they also have a shop on the west

coast. Also check with gary reed ,he is the patent and manufactor

of lock n stitch lacing plugs. He also has a division that does

large casting welding ,he used to run the welding division of

northwest motor welding in Anaheim ,califoria .

first and second photos are before and after welding , third is

the oven and heating torches. Cylinder was preheated to 1200 deg,

welded and postheated to 1500 and cooling took over 12 hours.

<p align="center">
Imported%20from%20qu100_4550_jpgqu.jpg


found bore cracked all the way around</p>

<p align="center">
Imported%20from%20qu100_4573_jpgqu.jpg


bore as welded with torch</p>

<p align="center">
Imported%20from%20qu100_4559_jpgqu.jpg


oven with 2 propane burners to heat
casting to 1200 deg F to weld</p>

george
 


Don ,

Cattail foundry not far from me , they are east of lancaster

pa and north of the kinzer steam show.

george
 


Jon,

If it is cast and not cast steel, o/a is the way to

weld it. You should have 1000 minimum and 1200 is better

as it will cool while you have the preheat off to weld .

Post heat of 1500 is to normalize the casting so that it

is not brittle and non machinable .Hold 1500 for 15 to 20

minutes and minimum of 30 min to cool to 1200 and slow

cool from there down.

Any welding done on cast without heat creates a brittle

zone on each side of the weld because the surrounding

material rapidly chills the area.

Stop in again and be sociable .

george
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top