Can you TIG it?

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I have a broken spring hanger on a small bale lift that I need to repair.....long story as to how I broke it...My stick skills are really crappy, and my little Maxstar is abit tempermental with stick at it's best.  Would it be possible to weld this hanger back together with TIG and ER70S rod?NOTE: this is NOT a higway trailer, it's designed to move large round bales around a horse paddock. Attached Images
Reply:I can't see why not as long as you can manage a few things. #1: You will need to clean ALL the rust off the area to be worked on. Tig will want that whole area to be imaculate. #2: You will most likely need to bevel the joint to get full penetration with that machine on tig. #3: You will need to be able to do a decent job overhead tig, or flip the whole thing so you can weld flat. #4: You will need to do this indoors or tent the whole structure to protect the shielding gas from breeze. #5: I'd expect that you probably should plan on some preheat as if it's outside, as cold steel will suck up too much of your amps for a good weld.Personally, I'd choose stick over tig, even though I tig much better than I stick weld. ER70S and 7018 should give you about the same strength however..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:You could TIG it, if you can get it clean and ground out.  I think someones telling you its time to learn how to stick weld.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Yer gonna get hot hands unless you have a water cooled torch.  Looks like I would vee it out 45* total with a small land.  Weld it all from the bottom.They already covered the clean part.Tig is easy overhead.  Lots of time, lots of amps.  200 to start?How thick is the plate 3/8"?  1/2"?David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:maybe its just rust or dirt, but it looks like you have a crack in the throat of the weld opposite to the broken one (top left of photo).be careful putting heat into spring steel, it can lose its tension very easily
Reply:I would NOT want to TIG that..
Reply:ARRRGGGG!!!Cleaned it all up, ground a V into it and preheated with a propane Tiger torch. Used all 150amps I have on my little Maxstar and post heated after welding, it's still cold up here, even in the shop. This little bale lift is under HUGE strain, 1600lb bale hanging off the spike at the back of the lift.The weld held perfectly, no cracks at all, no flexing...BUTthe Stupid weldor (me) didnt line up the angle correctly and now under load the shackle inverts!!!!  Which proves that the weld holds, when it flips up the whole side lowers and the bulk of the load is put on this side....No pics of the weld, but when grind it off and reweld it I'll post some with a mesuring tape for size refernce, the cart and axle are rather small.  This hanger is about 1/4" thick, maybe less. Attached Images
Reply:I do not like multipass TIG. Or any other type of multipass welding. They do it in industry. But they often come up with techniques, methods or designs that make it feasible. Often after many tests and failures. When you are fixing something you get one try. Multi pass welding falls under blacksmith skills. Welding is heating the part once and welding it by fusion. Or heating the part once and adding filler wire to weld it. Anything else and you are fixing a cold or bad weld. Or you do not have the right sized equipment to weld it. So you improvise and perform a kind of blacksmith operation on it. Often heating, stretching and shrinking the material many times. It is a gamble. That we do take all the time. But it is not welding. Spring steel, oil hardening material, it is not weldable, especially after it is hardened. But you could probably bond it back to the other piece with heat and filler rod. I would not trust it.        Sincerely,             William McCormick