Broken Mill Hand Crank Repair?

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The hand crank for my milling machine broke....Material seems to be a cast iron with chrome plating.Can this be welded with the machine that I have?:Harbor Freight 151 wire feed welder (dcen) with flux core wire only (no gas)?HF 151 Dual Mig Welder (with mods)Lincoln 225-S AC WelderBuffalo MM-1 Milling MachineCraftsman/Atlas 6 inch Metal LatheBuffalo RF-115  4 x 6 inch Band-Saw
Reply:crown alloy makes a 44-30 Nickel-Iron-Manganese Mig Wire, you'll also need a small bottle of argon..htpweld.com sells the wire under #50235...  It is not cheap, $125 for a 2# spool..tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:Originally Posted by brucercrown alloy makes a 44-30 Nickel-Iron-Manganese Mig Wire, you'll also need a small bottle of argon....
Reply:A new hand crank from the mfgr would cost you less than the specialty filler metal
Reply:If you weld it with what you've got, you'll end up ruining it completely and likely making it unrepairable.Brazing might be a better option in this situation, IMO.
Reply:If you are looking to get a hand crank together on the cheap, I would recommend you try finding a piece of steel that will slip over the end of the shaft that the broken wheel goes to and use it as a hub. Use your welder to fabricate a new wheel from scratch around that hub. That way you can pick materials you are confident will work with your machine. Keep the broken pieces parts in a coffee can just in case you can't bear the pain and want a welding shop to fix it for you and you can't find a replacement.
Reply:if you own a lathe or have access to one, turn something up.. you could even make one with a mill if you have some decent tooling like a rotary table, indexing head and or boring head..  are you sure its cast iron and not cast steel?tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:Originally Posted by brucer.....are you sure its cast iron and not cast steel?
Reply:Spark testTA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:For what it cost for the supplies needed you would be better off having a welding shop do it for you. I have never had a problem walking into a shop as long as they were not busy and was treated very well.
Reply:Forget about spark tests and all that hooey.  They're unreliable at best.If it's steel, the chips will come out like chips when the part is drilled with a small bit.If the part is cast iron, the material will be granular when drilled.Chances are it's pot metal, and almost impossible to weld."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Not to get away from welding, but for a quick and permanent fix I would clamp the two pieces together and drill and tap two holes from the outside into the broken center piece on both sides of your already tapped hole for your handle. You have enough mass to counter bore and recess machine bolt heads. It would look great and be a permanent fix until you bump it against an inmoveable object again.
Reply:The fracture texture looks like cast iron, the red/brown oxidation on the non plated area says iron based, the non-magnetic business has me confused...You can get a new blank hand wheel or balanced crank handle from people like McMaster-Carr for pretty low bucks.Matt
Reply:Thanks for all the ideas........The material is apparently cast-iron, not pot metal. It is machined nicely and has been drilled and tapped. It does stick to a magnet.....I could make a new one on my lathe, but would miss the nice heavy wheel of cast iron (overall it weighs about 2 lbs). The heavy wheel helps when spinning the mill long distances.....trapperjohn's suggestion of bolting it back together is a good one too.HF 151 Dual Mig Welder (with mods)Lincoln 225-S AC WelderBuffalo MM-1 Milling MachineCraftsman/Atlas 6 inch Metal LatheBuffalo RF-115  4 x 6 inch Band-Saw
Reply:steel is more dense than cast iron.miller thunderbolt 250vlincoln square wave tig 175 prolincoln idealarc mig sp250everlast tig 210EXTeverlast power plasma 50chicago electric (hf) 130 tig/90 arcchicago electric 90 amp flux wire3 sets oxy/acet
Reply:you could stick weld it back together with some 309 stainless possibly. First V the crack out really well, then pre heat the part to 350F in an oven, next weld, after that return to oven, turn off the heat and let cool slowly.  IMHORyanLast edited by trouble007; 06-13-2012 at 12:27 AM._______________________OF COURSE I DON'T LOOK BUSY... I DID IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME