I know someone here has done this before.

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Welded up broke needles for a New Holland hay baler. So for anybody that has, how'd you do it.
Reply:New Holland dealer was 1/2 mile from me I've heard lots of discussion of needles, or fingers. Never heard of successfully welding them. Of course, they were the local welding supply. They sold tons of 1109 rod, a bit of 6013, then when they took on the Twentieth Century brand, We started hearing of 7018. At one point early in life, being the only one around able to read, I noticed it was 6011 not 1109. That in itself was a revelation.I'd guess they are high carbon steel. You'll have to anneal, preheat, I'd use 316 stainless, or Hastalloy W. then heat treat.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:I'm sure your chances of getting good suggestions would increase quite a bit if you add some pictures of what you are talking about, and what the part has to be able to do. Silver soldering or brazing may be an option when working on materials that are hard or unsuitable to weld, and the low work temperature of silver solder supposedly makes it possible to use on hardened of steel with little or no ill effect.
Reply:Waaaaaaaaay out of my league! Is welding spring steel the same as welding high carbon steel?Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:@ LMREESE - haven't welded up any failed baler needles myself.  Thinking members 'forhire' or 'irish fixit' may have.  Did run across a cool YT channel (ElderlyIron) where they repaired what appears to be a severed cast iron/steel part using SMAW. PreHeat, welded, and peened.  No mention of electrode, but prob a high Ni content.  FWIW, "Discovery is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought" - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Reply:They are not spring steel, they are cast iron or cast steel, depending on brand and age. I always use nickle, but many are brazed. Take both off so you can use the good one as a pattern to keep the arch acurate. When your done cycle the baler through the knot cycle a few times to see if there is an obstruction or timing issue. You set them by tightening the bolt alternately til you get the clearance right. There should be instructions in the owners manual for proper setting.Yeah, I know, but it'll be ok!Lincoln Square wave 255Miller Vintage mig30a spoolgunThermal Dynamics Pacmaster 100xl plasmaSmith mc torchEllis 1600 band saw
Reply:They are cast iron. I am gonna give it a try. If I can get it to stay then great if not, oh well. I repair farm equipment as a side business so timing a baler and adjusting needles is not a problem.
Reply:Good luck with that. I would be interested in the longevity of it repairing them. I think WelderJ has it right but I have never heard of one lasting through another season and never tried one myself. I am with CEP on being out of this league (probably not close to CEP in any league from the stuff I have seen him post)! Be interested in what you find that works.SA-250 TMDSquarewave 200Thunderbolt AC/DC1951 G.E. welder
Reply:^1109! Takes a real welder to blind test the difference between 6011's and 1109's!SA-250 TMDSquarewave 200Thunderbolt AC/DC1951 G.E. welder
Reply:I've seen them welded on old machines. So occasionally welding must last. Its pretty spectacular when a Baler jumps time and destroys the needles! (plus a few other parts also)
Reply:[QUOTE=Willie B;5991321]...They sold tons of 1109 rod, a bit of 6013, then when they took on the Twentieth Century brand, We started hearing of 7018. At one point early in life, being the only one around able to read, I noticed it was 6011 not 1109. That in itself was a revelation...QUOTE]If they sold 1109, that other stuff was probably 810L."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:Okay so my method for repair was cleaned the breaks and beveled the edges. I then heated the pieces in my coal forge to a dull red. Then I welded out with 810L  I can't figure out exactly what happened because the baler didn't jump time and I couldn't find anything in the hay. My repair got me through the rest of the field and held up fine. Well see how permanent it is.
Reply:With that joint configuration just preheat and use a nickel rod. You need a good preheat, not red, but probably 500F-600F. If you leave a root opening there should be no need for peening. If you don't leave a root opening you should peen the weld. Hit it hard enough to displace metal. I would use a Ni 55 for for this repair. Ni 99 is good if you only have room for 1 pass but need to machine afterwards. If I don't need to machine or am doing 3 or more passes I use Ni 55.Last edited by burns; 06-16-2015 at 06:43 PM.
Reply:This web site has some really good information on welding cast iron. http://www.locknstitch.com/CastIronWelding.htmDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Originally Posted by LMREESEOkay so my method for repair was cleaned the breaks and beveled the edges. I then heated the pieces in my coal forge to a dull red. Then I welded out with 810L  I can't figure out exactly what happened because the baler didn't jump time and I couldn't find anything in the hay. My repair got me through the rest of the field and held up fine. Well see how permanent it is.
Reply:I've never seen any that were not cast iron. Brazed quite a few. I always figured they used cast iron to minimize damage to the plunger and gear box when the timing slipped and the plunger hit them. And you didn't have to pry them out of the plunger or out from under the plunger after a breakdown like you would with steel.---Meltedmetal