DyKem tricks......

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I did not get to take any pics of the mess we had, but our Case loader is a 721, and it had a hydraulic line fail in the field yesterday. They rolled it in late, and I had to fix it and send it back on its' journey to the site, which is like 70 miles from us. Long haul for that machine.Anyway, the line is a 90 degree elbow, 1" tubing with a wall thickness of about .100. It has a flange face on both sides, with an O-ring recessed in, and the 90 is double face clamped on both sides to secure it in place. The leak is from the factory bend. The tube is pulled over a mandrel, and the follower scratched the side of the tube, and it obviously stressed it. The radius is about a 3.5", so this is a pretty tight bend for this kind of higher tensile steel.We could see the crack. We DyKem treated the crack, and it showed up well. We could not see the crack on the inside, but really wanted to see it, so we could know if the crack was a split fracture, a straight crack, or a lateral run crack. I was fearing the lateral run, because the crack would be much harder to grind and seal properly. 5 minutes of soaking, and no dye was showing inside. So, I showed our weld QC guy a trick I learned a long time ago: I simply took an air nozzle and blasted the crack on the outside. He said " Will that really work?" INSTANT result. We saw the crack, and it was not too complicated. (Good!) Well, gently flap disked the tube to remove the zinc coating...... and the crack completely disappeared. I mean, it was GONE. Magnifying glass did not find it again. How stupid we feel sometimes.....So, I reversed gear. I dye'd the part. No crack showed with the dye. BUT..... I used the air inside the tube. INSTANT result. Crack shined, and I ground it out really carefully. Drill stopped the crack at both ends, and ground down into the tube about .035/ .040 ish. Amps at 80, really clean tungsten, and 309 filler rod. 2 passes, and then we looked inside. I got my best ever root pass, on this little piece. Man, I about jumped for joy. Took it to the boss and handed it to him. He looked inside.He got a light, and a magnifier. And he looked some more. he walked out to the shop with the part in his hand. Went to my machine, and looked at the torch. He then asked me: "How in the hell did you weld INSIDE a 90 on a 1" tube???" I mean, the weld was PERFECT. I just smiled, and sang a little 'Felix the cat, the wonderful wonderful cat.....'  He smirked, and said "Put it back in service." To impress a 40 year pipeline welder veteran with a weld on that?? Today was a GOOD DAY!I think he is willing to let us take some pics. I have a few projects I should get pictures of, we get some cool stuff. A lot of it, we will not be allowed any pics, so I will have to tread carefully.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Man, hydraulic leaks are not to trifle with. I'd be nervous as hell if my weld was holding back 2000+ psi of hydraulic oil. But that's why I'm just an amateur...Everlast PA160-STH... and that's about it!
Reply:what sort of dykem did you use?  should have used a solvent removable penetrant like what comes in the magnaflux PT kits and did a PT on the i.d. and it would have shown up real fast
Reply:Impressed a 40 year pipeline veteran?  I'd be stoked too. Nice job   Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Nothing feel as good,  Well that might be an overstatement, but close.The power of air!
Reply:Cool bananas! I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Great idea. I will have to remember that trick.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Definitely a handy Dykem trick. Did you tell the boss it works by Bernoulli's principle? How much tungsten stick out did you use?
Reply:Kewl 'trick'.  (btw, the crack 'disappeared' when you ground the outside a bit most likely because of metal 'smearing' as you ground it.)  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:That's my boy!Taught him everything he knows......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:hit the area with a file and it will show the crack.  the file will cut instead of like the grinder smearing.
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireDefinitely a handy Dykem trick. Did you tell the boss it works by Bernoulli's principle? How much tungsten stick out did you use?
Reply:Originally Posted by Scott Younghit the area with a file and it will show the crack.  the file will cut instead of like the grinder smearing.