Repair advice appreciated

[sgking]

Hi this is an old antique cistern lever that shattered in two and I'd like to repair. I have done some mig welding but cant say I'm particularly good as I've not got that many hours under my belt. My work has all been on car bodywork.

I'm wondering how a decent metalworker/welder would go about repairing it? The lever pulls a rod at that exact place so the repair will be under at least some stress/force.

Please feel free to move this post to somewhere more suitable if need be

Thanks

 

[Dcal]

It looks like cast iron so brazing would be a better option.

 

[Kram]

Looks forged, dont know if cast iron or not.

Tig brazing is likely best option. One for @doubleboost ?

 

[sgking]

Thanks for your replies, underside of the counterweight has some detail if that helps identify how it was formed

 

[Dcal]

I'd say its cast, if it was forged it would probably still be in one piece.

Oxy acetylene brazing would be my first choice for repair but tig braze would be ok as well.
I prefer OA brazing for cast iron as the heat build up is slower and more controlled so there is less chance of it cracking.

 

[Ace Paul]

Is making another one out of some streel an option.

Something about pre heat and post heat cast. If it’s broken once it can break again

 

[frank horton]

make one from modern steel.....then soak it brine for a month.....in fact ding it up a bit with a center punch etc....
once fitted nobody would know.....

 

[sgking]

Thanks for your replies.

Making one sounds good and nice to know that it's an option if this original cannot be repaired.

As for OA or TIG brazing, what sort of professional can I approach to do that for me. I live rural, so welders that I know of are usually mechanics or blacksmiths, do they do brazing?

 

[E T]

If it's cast steel it's perfectly fine to weld it.

 

[Dcal]

There's a good chance a Blacksmith would have the gear, or know someone who has.

 

[doubleboost]

I would pin it and TIG braze .
More than happy to have a go at it for you .
It would make a good video .

 

[sgking]

@doubleboost that's very kind, I have just discovered your channel and seen what you do, some amazing stuff there. Im honoured lol. Congrats on the subscribers that's an insane amount!

I could post it to you no worries but would also have to rely on the post to get it back if that's not too much of a faff for you. Obviously at my cost plus whatever your fee (I can't imagine it's worth alot though mind)!

If you are making a video I could send you a clip of it in action for you to include in yours, if you wanted. Nice for viewers to see the result of your skills?

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

There's a good chance a Blacksmith would have the gear, or know someone who has.

A blacksmith would quite possibly be able to oxy-acetylene weld it with Cast Iron filler rod... The big constraint for fusion welding cast iron is that you need to basically heat the entire workpiece to reduce heat and cool slowly.

If you have a hearth that you light most days anyway, welding it at/in the hearth at the end of the day, and then leaving it buried in the coals overnight to cool dead slow is suddenly a lot less impractical.

 

[brightspark]

easy enough brazing it with ocyacetylene torch in a hearth and using a propane torch to heat the whole aeria

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

easy enough brazing it with ocyacetylene torch in a hearth and using a propane torch to heat the whole aeria

With such a small part it probably doesn't even need a [brazing] hearth for brazing with oxy-fuel.

Preheat to about 500°C with a big roofing torch, braze the repair with a reasonably large tip tip that will spread some heat across the metal around the joint, and then pop it in a domestic oven preheated to maximum temperature for an hour, then turn the oven off and let it cool.

It's specifically fusion welding cast that has the ridiculous levels of pre and post heat needed... I have successfully done it twice, and successfully done a weld only to then re-crack the part by not cooling it slowly enough twice, but 50:50 is not bad for an amateur with a totally inappropriate setup (I used a barbeque).

 

[Dragnet]

Carbon-arc brazing? I've had success with this on cast parts and it has the lowest entry requirements for those of us without TIG.