Soldering cast iron

David N,

An update would be very much appreciated.

Good luck, Bear......

Hello Bear, after chatting with Brian, I've decided to make a new one. I've ordered a piece of cast iron and when it arrives, I'll make a new gear wheel combined with the sleeve. I'll try and post again when I have something to show you but it will be a week or two!

David

Hello again David,

I did suggest you graft the gear you already have onto the new piece of cast iron bar and how to secure it. There seems to be nothing wrong with the gear itself, it will save you time as well.

It is of course your choice but as you describe your plan it involves making the gear as well. Either way, I hope it goes well for you.

Regards Brian

Morning Brian,

Yes, you did but I thought 'it would be an interesting job' famous last words! and I suppose if it all goes terribly wrong I can still graft the gear on as you suggest.

Best Wishes, David

Hello David,

Oh, it will certainly be an interesting exercise! Sorry to poke my neb in, I was just thinking of the extra work and time involved. Enjoy!

Best wishes Brian

I'm glad you posted a picture, I'd never have imagined that was your problem without it.

repairing cracked cast iron is generally best tackled by brazing, you can fit the 2 pieces together like a 3d jigsaw piece, tack in place then carve a V along the crack and fill in, welding, as has been mentioned here tends to introduce tension and move things, and crack things very easily if the part isn't heated and cooled in very controlled way, welding as a procedure for repair of cast iron would be at the bottom of my list, Tig Brazing I've played around with and had good results as it gets the heat in quite quickly before thermal expansion becomes a serious problem.

I've played around with MIG bronze brazing also, found this excellent for crack repair but wouldn't use it on anything that didn't need finishing with a carbide burr as it's not pretty.

For your problem if a good fit was possible loctite retaining compound would probably be suitable, I've been pretty impressed with how well it works.

Here is the final outcome. Before and after!

Bravo !

MichaelG.

Well done. I imagine you found the job satisfying to do as well

Brian

Very nice David!

Was there a magic wand or a top hat involved at all? 8^)

Thank you. It’s surprising how a job can evolve!!!

David