Bad Day Just got Worse

[Wesley Chambers]

Please tell me there is something I can do here.. not so much as to repair but to replace..

[ThomasPowers]

Broken pitman? No biggie I've seen them re-cast in bronze and machined, Machined from steel or bought from Sid if it's a LG part or can be modified from an LG part.)

On my Champion it's bronze

[Wesley Chambers]

Its from my dirty old Hillbert - Freiberg hammer, whats my best bet here, shipping the busted part to someone for the rebuild?

[macbruce]

If it were mine I'd try a repair first......V out the cracks, tig with silicon bronze after clamping, then put a steel U around it and braze around the strap.....pre heat and cool slow.....

[ThomasPowers]

If it were mine I'd take it over to a local VoTech machining program and ask if they could make another one and how much it would cost. I've had very good luck that way with only nominal contributions to their end of semester party fund.

Tolerances on that part are probably fairly loose with only the inside diameters where the shafts fit being fussy at all.

You might even forge a preform to make machining cheaper.

[Wesley Chambers]

I have not the equipment or skill to attempt it Mac but I would if I could! I like the votech option Ill hunt around tomorrow!

[Bentiron1946]

If it was me I just try to plain old braze it exactly like MacBruce said and it that didn't work then I'd look for a machinist school like Thomas suggested. I got an ancient old rolling mill for my jewelry that was cast iron and the frame cracked and I brazed it back together and it is holding strong. Yes, I know it is not as much stress as your machine has but give it a try. You do have an oxygen/acetylene rig don't you?

[Wesley Chambers]

stick welder yes, torch no, keep getting outbid at estate auctions! lol

[Bentiron1946]

The O/A torch that Harbor Freight sell ain't all that bad. Not as big some but it's OK for small to medium sized jobs. You may be able to braze with your stick welder too, I never was any good with my Lincoln though.

[Dan P.]

stick welder yes, torch no, keep getting outbid at estate auctions! lol

I think any oxy-acetylene outfit is something that is worth buying new. Acetylene is spooky stuff!

[Bentiron1946]

You got a stick welder? Try some nickle rod. Grind the crack out in a vee and de-grease the part and give it a try. Then use a muffler type clamp on it to hold it in place. Let's Ghetto Rig this back together.

[peacock]

I think I can make that part. Forge a blank then machine. What does it measure over all?

[Wesley Chambers]

7" long, 5" wide at the bearing 2 1/8" diameter with a 1 1/4" opening

I do have a friend that is handy with his torch waiting on a call back to see about his brazing skills, you think nickle rod over bronze braze? whats the stronger hold? I did find some bronze filler rod online to stick weld with..

[pkrankow]

Nickle is stronger, but braze can be an excellent bond. If that part is cast iron then the question is more like "which has a more favorable HAZ"

Preheat, postheat, maintain temperature control, cool slowly. Shouldn't matter if done right, arc welded with nickle, brazed with a torch...

Phil

[macbruce]

7" long, 5" wide at the bearing 2 1/8" diameter with a 1 1/4" opening

I do have a friend that is handy with his torch waiting on a call back to see about his brazing skills, you think nickle rod over bronze braze? whats the stronger hold? I did find some bronze filler rod online to stick weld with..

Bronze stick rod is crap, tig or torch with silicon bronze would be better.

[JNewman]

No torch, Braze it in the forge. Less likely to crack elsewhere that way due to heating the whole thing anyhow. Braze one side with bronze then use silver solder on the other because you don't have to heat it as hot. You can also do copper and bronze I forget which is a higher melting point but a quick google will tell you. Learned this trick from Tom Latane.

Use borax as flux get the pitman hot enough that it will melt the brazing and it will help to suck in the braze.

[fciron]

V out the cracks. Preheat the whole thing and Ni rod with the arc welder or braze if you prefer.

I always like to know why things broke before fixing them. If there was some kind of one time crash that caused side thrust I wouldn't try to re-engineer anything. If the crack is from overtightening a set screw in the boss next to it I would think about some way to prevent that; either reinforce the crack or use a dedicated wrench that is too short to get the leverage on. If it's just age and time, maybe 50 or 60 years is pretty good for a power hammer, fix it and go.

[Wesley Chambers]

Im betting this hammer is well past 60 but that in combo with over-tightening did the trick.

I might try the forge braze along with the addition of a 2" wide steel wrap though Ive never forge brazed anything bigger than a heel caulk :P

[nonjic]

Does a locking screw go through the noggin on the side?

I think I would grind the noggin off, so the pitman end is round, then turn a steel ring with a 0.020" pinch, heat it up and drop it over.

If you make the wall of the steel ring about 1/2" you can then drill and tap it for a locking screw (assuming thats what goes there!)

[macbruce]

Im betting this hammer is well past 60 but that in combo with over-tightening did the trick.

I might try the forge braze along with the addition of a 2" wide steel wrap though Ive never forge brazed anything bigger than a heel caulk :P

One possible disadvantage to forge brazing is that it will be hard to control how much overflow of material flows inside the bore. If that happens removing it could be problematic...... &--#60;_&--#60;

[Wesley Chambers]

So everyone I took the part to said cast steel not iron so good news! V'ed heated welded with 7018 and shes good as new! ran it for about an hour today stopping every few minutes to inspect but its looking good! Thanks all for the advice!


btw, I love how the photo upload works for me every other day even for 3meg+ images, just not today.

[pkrankow]

Looks like the bad day is much better now.

Phil

[Madmike]

Great, happy for you ;)

[clinton]

7018 will fix just about anything, I have used it to repair castings and weld dissimilar metals