From: GOTaM35 (GOTaM35@joetrapp.com)
Date: Sun Jun 20 2004 - 19:09:47 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: <rertman@ix.netcom.com>
> 2. Yes, a good welder can repair it with a high frequency TIG or MIG
welder.
I hate to disagree with anyone about anything, but I would like to give an
opinion on this one. Keep in mind there may be things here I am unaware of,
therefore I could be wrong.
I don't trust TIG or MIG on anything thick. Having said that I did visit
the John Deere plant last week and was amazed at there mig set up to weld
the frames.
I was a pipe welder for 15 years before becoming a "small business" owner
and operator of heavy equipment. If done properly a pipe can be welded so
that the weld is as strong as the pipe. Of course there could be some
tensile strength issues I am not aware of here. I would suggest grinding
the crack about half way down with a 1/4" grinding wheel. This will leave
you with a 1/4" groove. Weld this groove with a P5 rod. That's a 6010
about 1/8" diameter if you use a DC welder. Try to fill the groove with
weld but don't stay there long enough to penetrate the pipe and leave weld
on the inside, if you are talking about a telescopic tow bar. Mine is
telescopic and that would keep it from working. Grind out the groove until
you see nothing but clean steel. Then cover or fill, depending on what is
left in the groove, with a Low hydrogen rod, maybe a 3/32", 7018. Be sure
to bond to the edges good. It really is pretty easy. I repair trucks and
equipment like this all the time and all I ever use is my DC machine and the
two rods mentioned. Works great on mild steel. Most things are mild steel.
One thing I have noticed is if you are grinding on steel and the sparks tend
to "sparkle" then you are working with some hard and therefore brittle
steel. If the tow bar is indeed this hard, I wouldn't trust any weld. I
welded a piece on a tractor one time this hard and I dropped the part on the
ground (that is dirt here) and it broke on the weld like glass. Has
something to do with the molecular make of the steel and the orientation of
the carbon atom.
And there's a pipe welders take on it.
Joe Trapp
PS. You know you have welded too much when a spark in the pants no longer
makes you jump :-()
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