FDC Report post Posted August 8 Had to have on of these to go with my refurbished Model 12 F. The chassis casting was broken. I repaired it using a broken cast piece from an ancient Taylor spot welder then I welded it using cast iron rod and my TIG welder. It came out better than I deserved. It’s in prime as of this evening. Excited to have it all together. Have to make a couple springs for it still… Will I ever work leather? Not if I keep buying cool vintage iron machines! Half the fun is the acquisition and road trip to pick up these gems. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cattleman Report post Posted August 8 (edited) As a machinist and welder by trade, I have to say that is some OUTSTANDING work!!! Can hardly tell it was ever broken. Side note: I would do almost anything to have that knee-mill!!! Edited August 8 by Cattleman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarshalWill Report post Posted August 8 That's some fine work. Outstanding job repairing it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mulesaw Report post Posted August 8 Impressive work! I bet it is flatter in the bottom now than it was when it was new :-) Brgds Jonas Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toxo Report post Posted August 8 Outstanding job. As an ex fabricator/welder I know how difficult it is to weld cast anything. In the days before mig I worked in a place that repaired cracked engine blocks. They would build an oven around it with fire bricks and gas jets. Leave it burning overnight till cherry red and two old boys would sit on an upturned bucket, stripped to the waist and set to with a really long oxy torch wrapped in asbestos and wire and cast rods as thick as your thumb. They had a bucket of water to quench the torch in. Amazing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FDC Report post Posted August 9 On 8/7/2024 at 11:30 PM, Cattleman said: As a machinist and welder by trade, I have to say that is some OUTSTANDING work!!! Can hardly tell it was ever broken. Side note: I would do almost anything to have that knee-mill!!! Thanks! I certainly have had welds not turn out as sweetly. A lathe and a knee mill will get you a lot of places won’t they? I’m fortunate to have this one for sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FDC Report post Posted August 9 On 8/8/2024 at 4:15 AM, toxo said: Outstanding job. As an ex fabricator/welder I know how difficult it is to weld cast anything. In the days before mig I worked in a place that repaired cracked engine blocks. They would build an oven around it with fire bricks and gas jets. Leave it burning overnight till cherry red and two old boys would sit on an upturned bucket, stripped to the waist and set to with a really long oxy torch wrapped in asbestos and wire and cast rods as thick as your thumb. They had a bucket of water to quench the torch in. Amazing. Of course I did this on the hottest day of the week! I’ve seen some of that engine repair work that you mention, intense to say the least. I pre-heated with a torch and post heated with a heat gun set up. No fatal “tink” heard. Yet… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toxo Report post Posted August 9 6 hours ago, FDC said: Of course I did this on the hottest day of the week! I’ve seen some of that engine repair work that you mention, intense to say the least. I pre-heated with a torch and post heated with a heat gun set up. No fatal “tink” heard. Yet… People often think they've done it but they don't notice that hairline crack running alongside the weld that tells you that the crack has just moved from where it was to where it is now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlZilla Report post Posted August 10 So, @FDC, I'm curious why you'd go to the time and trouble of matching up the curve instead of making a straight cut across the stand and making a straight cut to piece it in. It's great work, but it seems like it was a lot of extra time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FDC Report post Posted August 10 17 hours ago, AlZilla said: So, @FDC, I'm curious why you'd go to the time and trouble of matching up the curve instead of making a straight cut across the stand and making a straight cut to piece it in. It's great work, but it seems like it was a lot of extra time. Truth is it’s way faster to clean up the fractured face than make it straight in this instance. The curve also had more surface area to weld which is stronger. Once I had milled a piece of old cast to use it took me less than 10 minutes to sand the casting fracture and profile the filler piece and bevel both! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FDC Report post Posted August 10 19 hours ago, toxo said: People often think they've done it but they don't notice that hairline crack running alongside the weld that tells you that the crack has just moved from where it was to where it is now. That can be the case for sure. Just not here as I used dye to check my work after being careful with pre and post heating as well as laying in a good bead. Cast is indeed a bit tricky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toxo Report post Posted August 11 14 hours ago, FDC said: That can be the case for sure. Just not here as I used dye to check my work after being careful with pre and post heating as well as laying in a good bead. Cast is indeed a bit tricky. Not to distract from your thread but here's an extension of my engine block story but it is about welding cast, aluminium this time. My "office" was a large ex blacksmith type forge. Covered in dust and cobwebs, it had a whole wall off pigeon holes that were full of stuff that hadn't been touched for years. An Aladdins cave for me because some were full of all types of arc welding rods which I could experiment with (I was quite young at this time and very much learning) including cutting rods, dissimilar metal rods, stainless, aluminium etc. One day a tanker came in and I was asked to have a go at the ladder along the top that had broken a couple of welds. I told the foreman that I'd never done it and he just said "Have a go", I found some rods that were half as long again as a normal welding rod, got up there and cleaned up the area . Then I found out why the rods were much longer than normal. (I'm sat here laughing now at the memory). As soon as I started it took about five seconds for the rod to burn down completely. With the thing being so long to say it was difficult would be an understatement. I did eventually get it done but it wasn't pretty. Just another one of life's stories. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FDC Report post Posted August 24 Well I’ve finished the refurbish on the Landis and here are a couple pics. The skived leather is saddle skirting. It presented no challenge for the Landis with a sharp blade! I’m going to machine a new cutter shaft and cutter holder that will use disposable rotary blades. This will be the easiest way to have a razor sharp machine all the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
