MTFCA Forum

Well this one was really imprignateg with oil. And, a vey porous casting to boot but success was achieved.

This fusion and blending was really testing my patiences.
I struck an oil well!

Using long pins to help stabilize.
Using JB Weld to seal off all the porosity at the weld.
Sealing the internal case with industrial varnish.
Anything is possible, just do not give up!

Nice Henry!

Hopefully you have an "apprentice" that you are passing on all of your experience and methods to...

Yes I do Tim. He is learning very well and taking it all in. Thanks for asking.

Hank

Nice job Henry!
I wonder how the casting broke at the flange like it did. Must have been dropped or the bolts got loose at the flange or? If it wasn’t dropped it could have been misalignment.
Adding the pins to help hold the flange together is a necessity in that location.
That’s as good a job as anyone could do!

The master at work! Thanks for showing us Hank. Always learning here.

Hi Hank,
You did a fine job on that case. I'm sure glad you took that on. I don't think I could have done that nice of a job on it ever.
Way beyond my expectations. Thank you very much. Craig

Nice work.

Master craftsman Hank ! Used TIG ? Now speedshift it into OD going about 50. Good job !!

After learning the hard way on these old aluminum castings... I’ve begun heating with a torch till it sweats oil, then rinse and scrub with solvent. Repeat as many times as you have patience for, then break out the welder. Often the castings will also suffer from inter-granular corrosion thats impossible to weld, and must be ground out.

Kudos to anybody with the patience to tackle a repair like this

Kevin did 5 heat sweat outs and washes and I still hit oil! One of the worst for me.

Hank

Like I said... as many as you have patience for

You HAVE to bake out the oil- all of it and it does take patience. Back in the days of vapor degreasers and trichlor, it was much easier, as those do a pretty good job of pulling any oil out. Also, the newer tig machines with adjustable duty cycles help a lot as you can set the duty cycle to clean the weld area. Older machines with a set 50-50 duty cycle can't do this. Fortunately I grew up a few blocks away from probably one of the best aircraft welders in California, and he was an absolute magician with a tig torch. Of course it helped to live less than a few miles from Naval Air Rework Facility Alameda where hundreds of skilled folks did their thing every day. To add to Bob's welding skills, he was a former BCRA midget driver as well.