Repairing pot-metal
Ted Edwards
> Once I tried to repair pot-metal, and ended up with a pot-metal puddle. I
> now need to try again, and this time I really need to succeed.
I've had success TIGing it. AC, Zirconated tungsten, Al technique.
Ted
Gordon Couger
wrote:
> Once I tried to repair pot-metal, and ended up with a pot-metal puddle. I
>now need to try again, and this time I really need to succeed.
> The item in question is the piece that stops a car door from swinging out
>too far when you open it. It's cracked right in half, and the break shows
>the powder-metal composition that I loathe so much.
> Has anyone been successful welding or brazing this crap?
>
Try zinc rod or the rod used to solder aluminum. And good luck
you need it.
Another way to fixe it is to mill a slot for a steel insert and
epoxy it in.
A trip to the junk yard is your best bet.
Gordon
Gordon Couger
Stillwater OK.
www.couger.com/gcouger
Remove the nospam from my return address
Don Foreman
rather than welding. Weldors control the puddle, but with
pot metal the job usually becomes the puddle, right?
Embed the part in clay or casting sand so when the metal
pops runny it can't go anywhere. You're making a casting
mold using the part as a pattern. Then just melt it in
place if it's a clean break, or feed in a little potmetal as
filler if necessary. In effect, you're making a new
casting using the old part as both pattern and material.
I make potmetal "filler rod" by melting potmetal and pouring
it into a piece of angle iron -- makes a nice triangular
rod. The "miracle rod" they claim fixes aluminum and
potmetal will work, but I've had better luck with potmetal.
Go gently with the torch to keep the oxides down and keep
from fuming the zinc; heat it like you were gas-brazing
aluminum.
You shouldn't need a flux unless it's really cruddy
potmetal, but if you do try Welco #52.
A little cosmetic work with a file completes the job. It'll
be as strong as a new part.
The other option is to epoxy the part together and use it as
a pattern for a lost-wax casting. That works very well but
it's usually more screwing around than is necessary.
Good luck, have fun!
On Sun, 05 Dec 1999 01:48:22 GMT, mikeg...@sprint.ca (Mike
Graham) wrote:
> Once I tried to repair pot-metal, and ended up with a pot-metal puddle. I
>now need to try again, and this time I really need to succeed.
> The item in question is the piece that stops a car door from swinging out
>too far when you open it. It's cracked right in half, and the break shows
>the powder-metal composition that I loathe so much.
> Has anyone been successful welding or brazing this crap?
>
>
Regards from Foreman, dfor...@Ugoldengate.net.
Please remove U from email address to reply
Mike Graham
>Embed the part in clay or casting sand so when the metal
>pops runny it can't go anywhere.
That makes sense. I like it. I'll try it.
--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Mike Graham | Metalworker by trade
mikegraham at sprint dot ca | Rancher by choice
Caledon, Ontario, Canada | Weird by nature
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Michael Serafin
You can either TIG it or use a special solder. Quite a few available.
A good one (that what I've heard) - 3-in-One by Alladin. Shop around,
you can also call my colleague from US Alloy or us at MG 800-558-8524.
Michael
On Sat, 04 Dec 1999 21:51:51 -0500, Ted Edwards
<Te...@bc.sympatico.ca> wrote:
>Mike Graham wrote:
>
>> Once I tried to repair pot-metal, and ended up with a pot-metal puddle. I
>> now need to try again, and this time I really need to succeed.
>
