Cracked block repair update with Muggy Weld

[AlanCasida]

I already had some Muggy Weld rods so I thought I would experiment an see how it would work. I had an other FE block to practice since I didn't want to start out on the 427 block. I cut grooves in the deck to mimic how I would repair the crack. Instead of stick welding, I removed the flux from the rods and TiG welded it. It didn't come out too bad. I used up what rods I had so I think I'll get some more and do a little more practicing before I commit. I called a well known cast iron welding place up in Wisconsin and he gave me a ball park figure of around $1000 to furnace weld the block then I would need to have a machine shop measure pretty much everything to check for distortion. Here are a few pics.   

[pbf777]

      I realize that this was only the "practice" run, but just as a note or reminder: Be sure to utilize a carbide burr for the trenching process.  First it's clean, not leaving behind embedded materials that might contaminate the welding process; and two, you want a smooth radius in the bottom of the trench, not any sharp striations that may lead to localized stress points that might encourage cracking, whether in the post welding cooling-off period or exhibiting shorter than hopped for fatigue life in service.   

      Scott

[AlanCasida]

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[bluef100fe]

Alan,

Curious where in Wisconsin you got a quote to do cast iron welding… I’ve been looking for a place to fix some iron stuff… also curious where your getting rods for tig welding. I’ve got an old kitchen oven wired in my shop now so I could try welding on some heads that I want to change the shape of and fix a couple holes if possible. So far I’ve only had limited success.

[jayb]

This guy is near Hudson Wisconsin, right across the border from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota.  The guy's name is Buck.  I've had him do multiple repairs for me, with mostly good results.  Welding cast iron is kind of a hit or miss deal, and sometimes you run across some porosity issues in the weld.

My friend Kevin (thatdarncat on this forum) recently had some major welding done on a set of tunnel port heads.  I think there was a place in Iowa that did his.  He recently dynoed his motor and everything went fine, so obviously the weld repair was solid.  He may chime in on this thread.

https://www.castmetalwelding.com/

[bluef100fe]

Would love to get some contact info for the guy in Hudson… I assume Kevin had his heads repaired at Midwest cylinder head in Iowa…. I’ve used them in the past but unfortunately they told me they are no longer doing the cast iron welding at their facility.. I think the guys that were good at the task there all retired. I’m hoping to find another good place to get that service done, I want to fiddle with brazing some floors up on some of my own heads that don’t have holes into water jackets but I’d like to leave the major iron head repairs to people way more experienced than myself. Thanks

[AlanCasida]

Alan,

Curious where in Wisconsin you got a quote to do cast iron welding… I’ve been looking for a place to fix some iron stuff… also curious where your getting rods for tig welding. I’ve got an old kitchen oven wired in my shop now so I could try welding on some heads that I want to change the shape of and fix a couple holes if possible. So far I’ve only had limited success.

I first contacted Midwest Cylinder Head in Iowa only to find out they no longer did any cast iron welding. Here is a link to the place I talked to in Wisconsin.  Good luck! https://www.castmetalwelding.com/