"Arc of Shame" Repair

T

thebigron

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I have recently purchased an old Craftsman 9 1/2" drill press. As seen in the pictures the table is in a mess, however, fortunately there are no holes all the way through the 3/16 " thick cast iron table. I have an old buzz box welder and some nickel or cast iron rods and am wondering what thougths are on welding up the dimples and facing the top off are. I have a 14 inch Clausing lathe that I can chuck up and indicate the table on. Would the rods crystalize and get too hard? Would it be better to buy some sort of plastic metal or JB Weld type of filler and use that? Could use some advice. Thanks.

Arc of Shame 004.jpg Arc of Shame 006.jpg
 
Looks like the previous owner kept forgetting where the center hole was. Years ago I used my Montgomery Ward buzz box and nickel rod to weld a cast iron cylinder head back together for a friend's Mustang. Ran great until he got rid of it. I think it will work but the dimples are barely noticeable.

Dave
 
Leave it or JB Weld or similar, I tried welding mine (had lots of holes right trough) and the distortion has to be seen to be believed, I might be able to fix it in my shaper but unlikely..

Bernard
 
Re: "Arc of Shame" Repair

i always just cover mine up with a big friggin vice anyway. :)

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i always just cover mine up with a big friggin vice anyway. :)
 
Frame the table and sell it as "industrial art" on Etsy.
Of course for enough money to buy a pristine one.
 
if you want to weld it just use a regular rod like 6013 and weld NO MORE than an inch at a time ant let it COMPLETELY COOL in between welds. i do this a lot with good results
 
You can weld it or braze it. Alternatively you can cut a sacrificial metal plate to put on the table that will cover the holes.

For the life of me I don't know how people manage this type of damage. I always drill on a block of wood so I know as soon as I see sawdust I know I am through.

Paul.
 
I agree with making a steel plate to cover the damage. Anything else you do will either warp the table or be quite noticeable.
 
Just live with it, you'll get used to it and you know you're not the one that did the damage. You'll be using proper methods and the damage won't impair you. If it makes you feel better the JB weld or such will be fine.
 
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