BBBbbbrassss Heat exchanger

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This one came in friday, had to go out Monday.  Its a cast brass heat exchanger for a train of some kind.  The customer had to cut out the supports to replace the cores inside.  I have to weld the supports back.  They will put in new cores.  First I tried some phos bronze stick, 3/32  Straight polarity by what is on the box.  NO joy.  It looked terrible and had cold lap.  Next I tried another box of 1/8" phos bronze stick, DCEP like it said on the box at the highest amp setting stated on the package.  Still no love.  I ground it off with a carbide burr on the die grinder and went to tig.  I couldn't get a puddle on the case.  The bars took the phos bronze rod, but I could not get it to stick the case with all the Arcmaster 185 had.  After putzing around a few minutes, I got a bead from the bar to the case.  I did the other side and the first side had cracked.  The dreaded crack.  I knew from there I had to pre heat the case.  SO out came the weed burner and 20 lb propane tank.  I heated it to 500 according to my infrared thermometer.  It started to sweat some real shiny stuff.  It looked like lead.  I ASSumed it was in the brass to help with casting.  I decided 350 to 400 was all the pre heat I could use.  The phos bronze filler rod took to it quite well.  The welding gods had smiled upon me.  I installed 2 of the supports and ran out of filler   Job will be continued and finished on Monday.This plate was totally black.  I cleaned it up because Harrison Radiator is in Lockport and so is my shop.  Its now Delphi, but.....Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Here is the CRACK!  I didn't hear this one, just saw it.  Before pre heat.The "stuff"More StuffAh yes, the welds.  You can see here I ground the bars to a pointed V.More weldsThat is all for today. David Last edited by David R; 06-22-2008 at 04:53 PM.Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:is that  thing there to heat water or cool oil?
Reply:I would say it cools oil for a locomotive engine.  Since 1948!DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Harrison is still in buisness I believe..They have made radiators forever.....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:Ooooo! Lots of scrap.  Bet thats worth a pretty penny either to replace or just for the scrap value. Whats it weigh?
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWOoooo! Lots of scrap.  Bet thats worth a pretty penny either to replace or just for the scrap value. Whats it weigh?
Reply:I bought 5 lbs of everdure.  Silicone braze.  The piece was still hot when I shipped it.  No time for pics.  The customer was satisfied.  I did throw it on the scale.  160 lbs.  I like those jobs.  The first one I put in with stick cracked when I heated it again today.  I fixed it with the tig.David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:nice work David your getting all the good jobs your work speaks for it self and from the jobs your posting looks like around your area the word has got out  if you want a good job call David well done  makes the hard yards worth it Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:Thank you Wello. Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I'de bet that shiny stuff that oozed out was tin, which means the casting was bronze not brass ( zinc ).
Reply:If I kept the stuff, I have a lead hardness tester.  Seems it melted awful low to be tin, but I don't know.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:4th pic in first post....I spotted the HF grinder right? Good job David!My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Yes, its a HF gutless wonder.  Good for sharpening tungsten.....Thanks David Last edited by David R; 06-25-2008 at 11:00 PM.Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I've worked on a couple of brass heat exchangers but nothing anywhere near that size, Brass/bronze can be a real pain. I once had the honor of repairing the brass sight off of a Civil War gatling gun. They turned it over and broke it. I used O/A and brazing rod. Welded it up and then got out the die grinder, files and later steel wool. Once they had it polished (we didn't have the stuff) you couldn't tell it was ever broken. Naturally this predated digital cameras and I didn't carry the 35mm in the truck on a regular basis. Wish I had pics now. You and Zap get all the fun jobs. That's the kind of stuff I like doing. Not a lot of challenge in mild steel after all these years, lol. If it weren't for turning things into things they were never meant to be I would get bored and quit, lol. All I am doing right now is repairing trailers, roll-off containers and starting tomorrow turning the bed off of a roll-off tow truck into a heavy duty roll-off container for hauling scrap steel to the mill, built entirely out of salvaged iron, lol. I'm doing before and after pics this time and maybe even a few for a brief how I did it. This one will be fun because it will be heavy enough I can actually crank it up and build a big fire, heheh. Maybe I can get some pics from the fab shop they are getting the steel out of. This place has two of the biggest press brakes I have ever seen. One is 40 feet long. Before Katrina flooded them they were building bridges and now they are building these little barges. It has 6 - 40' X 300' bays with 2 X 10, 15 or 20 ton overhead bridge cranes each.Last edited by Jolly Roger; 06-26-2008 at 01:04 AM.Reason: left something outThe difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.