Pistof Piston...LOL..

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Got a call last night from a pretty reknown race engine builder (around here anyway) about reparing a Ross racing piston that's going in a 580 C.I. Chebby race motor..Here's the piston..Here's the problem..Here is the inside..How does that happen??Funny you should ask..The piston was undergoing the lightening procedure to get them all the same weight..(balancing)..and it seems that the end mill worked its way out of the collett and thru the piece..Not good..So heres where I become "it" for a little while..So heres the game plan..We fill in the top first and worry about the inside later..Top filled..Looks good..Flip it over and look at what we see..lol..Well we will deal with this in the next post.. ...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:Kinda funky looking inside huh?  Ok after the first go round of filling and smoothing out here is what we have now..After the second round of filler eliminator heres what we see..And I'll leave it alone now..Its up to the engine builder to re-machine it...So I guess that will make him "it" now.. The piston stayed round..Checks out with the micrometers so I guess it will be OK..Lets just hope the piston "stays" ok @8000 R.P.M.  Heres the set-up..Here's the welder settings..1/16 5356 Filler..I get all the fun jobs.....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:Originally Posted by zapsterHow does that happen??Funny you should ask...
Reply:how'd you get that out of my motor?haha just messin, looks real similar though.
Reply:LolSeems that the TIG gun is getting a little excited...wouldn´t welding the piston could cause some weakening of the material? They should be made of nice aluminum don´t they? ohhh, and after you got the little "balls" inside, did you grind them and reweld? or just melt them again? did you cleaned again with acetone after first pass? Thanks for answering the newbie =)My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Great job as always Zap. I probably would have just taken the dime and covered the hole.   No I wouldn't...but it's neat it was the same size.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Nice job, I have never welded a piston.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:that piston will be fine especially for the amount of time it will be runned for there is no doubt in my mind that it has distorted. even know the veniers did not pick it up. There has been alot of welding done on pistons in race machines especially F1 cars.
Reply:Ummm, Zap, why did you use 5356?  AFAIK the 5356 filler is not recommnded for service temperatures above 150F, and I think that a piston is going to be hotter than that when the engine is running!!!!Also, the underside weld looks like there is porosity in the filler, at least on the surface.  If it is just surface porosity and when the excess proud filler is machined off and the underlying aluminum is solid, then no problem or worries then.  But it looks kind of spongy in the pics, or is that just soot/smut on the surface?
Reply:ohhh, and after you got the little "balls" inside, did you grind them and reweld? or just melt them again? did you cleaned again with acetone after first pass?
Reply:Ummm, Zap, why did you use 5356? AFAIK the 5356 filler is not recommnded for service temperatures above 150F, and I think that a piston is going to be hotter than that when the engine is running!!!!